Kohime & Barnaby
by licrois
Summary: It was getting harder to keep her promise to her husband, especially when a bunny-like hero entered the picture. FemKotetsuxMaleTomoe, Oneside BarnabyxFemKotetsu - COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Tiger&Bunny but I do own this fanfic, thank you.

**A/N**: This is created because I think that Kotetsu can be a good mama like he is a good papa. The pairings for now will mainly FemKotetsuxMaleTomoe, one side BarnabyxFemKotetsu, and some one side AntonioxFemKotetsu.

I plan to do multiple chapters, and it will look like a semi one-shot because I only plan to write what I want. I won't follow the episode to the letter and I admit I will and have taken many liberties in this story. Also, expect me doing skips to the parts that I thought important.

I also thought this as a characterization practice for me. Please feel free to ask or even complain about OOC-ness you've found in this fic. I'll try to put as much Kotetsu in Kohime, but seeing that he is now a she, I took the liberties of changing 'her' inner and outer conflict. All will be explained in due time.

* * *

><p>"<em>Please don't put yourself into the danger anymore."<em>

"_I know, but I've promised to Ben this last job. It will be very rude to refuse this at the last minute."_

_Tomohiko looked at her worriedly, still not convinced to let his wife go._

"_Don't worry, dear. I'll be back before you know it. Let's have a dinner party after this! I'll cook your and Kaede's favorite to celebrate my retirement!"_

_After saying that, Kaburagi Kohime left the house, not knowing that they wouldn't have that promised dinner._

* * *

><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 1: The Super-Protective Mother & Pink Eared Hero**

* * *

><p>The first time Kohime met Bunny-chan was at the bank robbery.<p>

She was taking money to pay for Kaede's skating course, thanks to the faulty bank system that didn't allow her to transfer it online, when suddenly several gunshots were heard and she found herself involved in bank robbery.

Ten minutes later, she was riding the van along with the robbers as a hostage.

If her mouth wasn't duct taped, she would have laughed at the robbers' stupidity. How come they did such a flashy robbery? They should have known about the Heroes that would make their escape hard if not impossible. She also noticed that in their hurry, the robbers tied her with an easy-to-tear type duct tape. The one who was pointing gun to her was also busy firing to their pursuers that he wouldn't notice her if she was to creep behind him to kick him out of the van.

Escape would be too easy. But Kaburagi Kohime chose to wait and let the heroes had their points by saving her. Besides, she had promised her late husband to not involve herself in danger anymore.

That decision was changed though, when the one of the robbers decided to run away with her bag, and Kaede's skating course money in it. The Kaburagis were having a hard time in economy and that amount of money was no piece of cake to draw.

Kohime's life resolution no. 1: nothing would stand between her daughter and her dream.

Kohime forced the door of the train driver open, catching both the driver and the robber's attention.

"Sorry to ruin your party, but could you please give my money back?" Kohime asked politely with a smile, trying to be the nice badass lady she pictured herself to be. She even wore the black sunglasses she saved for next summer holiday.

When the robber cocked his gun to her and saying profanities, it's clear that it was not working.

"_Sky High has come!"_

Hearing that, the robber looked frightened and jumped out of the train to escape. Kohime cursed. Did they have to announce it here also?

"WAIT!" Kohime shouted, activating her Hundred Power to leap to the zeppelin the robber had jumped to.

Kohime chased the robber relentlessly, not knowing that she had caught Hero TV's attention. She'd later thank to God that her family didn't watch Hero TV.

Five minutes later, the zeppelin almost crashed to a passenger ship. Luckily Blue Rose managed to stop it. After that, Kohime managed to capture the robber, but he managed to escape when Kohime was not looking.

Too focused in her chase, she just went overboard and forgot that her time was almost up. She jumped so high and suddenly she felt her power disappearing fast.

Her Hundred Power session had ended, and she was still in mid air.

"AAAAAAHHH!"

She screamed as she plunged to the sharp ice below. As she drew near, she closed her eyes, waiting for the icicles to impale her.

Again, she was too busy saying goodbye to her mother, brother, and Kaede in her heart to notice someone had caught her in mid air and cradled her like a princess. After realizing that she was not falling anymore, she opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was the pink, bunny-like ears on a robot like face. While she was still trying to grasp the situation, the bunny robot spoke.

"Don't push yourself too hard, Lady."

Kohime's reply was drowned by a scream of fright from the robber she was chasing around. The red robot quickly put her down, almost like dropping her, and chased the robber. Kohime tried to balance herself, but her heels were too slippery. When her butt landed on the ice, the red robot had caught the robber.

She was shocked and confused when the red robot opened its face, revealing a face of a young man behind it. So the red robot was actually a hero. He didn't look like one because he didn't have sponsors' logo pasted all over his hero suit. Besides, shouldn't a hero kept his identity as a secret?

As she nursed her poor bottom, Kohime decided to ask him when she got the chance.

"Hey," Kohime called the red and black armored guy. When she got his attention, she asked, "Who are you with?"

"With?"

"You are a hero, aren't you? Who's your sponsor? Or are you a free agent?"

"What does it matter? We made an arrest."

He got a point, Kohime admits. Still she continues, "Why did you reveal your face? Shouldn't a hero keep it concealed? I never saw a hero revealing his face—let alone doing it right at the beginning!"

"How old-fashioned," the young man said with a deadpanned face.

Kohime froze in place. Like every middle-aged woman, she was sensitive to the word 'old'.

"Did you just call me old?" she asked with a tone colder than Blue Rose' ice.

"You are behind the times," the young man corrected. He paused for a moment before adding, "Aunty."

"What?"

The young man walked away and Kohime was too dumbfounded to stop him. Instead of screaming profanities and throwing tantrum to the rude brat, she found herself asking: 'Do I look that old?'


	2. Chapter 2

"_It has been ten minutes since Tiger Princess entered the building! The fire has reached the fourth floor where the trapped child is located! Will our heroine make it? Wait… is that?"_

_A shadow emerged from the smoke. Everybody knew that silhouette very well._

_Tiger Princess appeared from the smoke. Her sea blue suit was covered with ashes and half of her black cape was torn and burned. She was carrying the child she was supposed to save in one arm and a man in the other._

"_It's the Tiger Princess! She has the child and someone else with—" the excited comment died as Tiger Princess suddenly dropped to her knees, let the child go, and hugged the man she carried._

"_Tomohiko, I'm sorry."_

_Nobody saw her tears, for they were absorbed by her mask. The sight of her hugging the unmoving man was her last scene of Hero TV, closing her long years as a Hero._

* * *

><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 2: The Not-Heroine & Her Employer**

* * *

><p>The Hero TV gave Kohime's money back after the hype settled down a bit, which was after the MVP ceremony of the Heroes. She couldn't get her claimed money faster because everyone was busy taking care of the new hero—who was dubbed as 'Bunny' by Kohime because his name was too complicated to remember. Her mother scolded her for getting involved in dangerous situation (her mom's friends told her mom about her 'appearance'), but Kohime had no qualms since she managed to save the money for Kaede.<p>

However, the joy of getting her money back only last till the next morning.

Kohime stared at the announcement blankly. Her not so bright mind was overloaded with disbelief and shock that she couldn't comprehend just what the hell had happened to her company.

"Sorry, Kohime-kun."

Kohime turned and found Ben standing behind her, looking very solemn. The man told her what happened. The company was bought by a certain big wheel company. Kohime supposed she should had seen this coming. TopMag had been struggling since her retirement as Hero. Her replacements were dropping faster than flies in the face of pesticide. Feeling guilty, Kohime decided to stay until they found a suitable replacement. That was why she didn't complain whenever the company cut her already too small paycheck for whatever reasons.

But still…

"You can't just do this!" she protested. How should she pay for Kaede's skating course now?

"I know. I haven't finished talking yet. Here." Ben handed a name card to her. It read: "Alexander Lloyds, HERO Division Director, APOLLON MEDIA COMPANY".

Just looking at the title made Kohime felt uneasy.

"He is your new boss. Go say hello to him. I think you know what he wanted from you."

* * *

><p>"No," Kohime said with a deadpanned face that could put Bunny's to shame.<p>

"Excuse me?" Alexander Lloyds asked, not sure if he heard her right. Maybe he simply couldn't believe her answer after that long, super idealized explanation.

"No, I am not interested to return to my Hero career. Not then, now, or _ever_," Kohime patiently repeated.

"But you were so fabulous yesterday, Mrs. Kaburagi! Rumors about you are only second to our Barnaby!" Lloyd said excitedly.

"Rumors? What rumors?" Kohime almost didn't dare to ask.

"That you are actually also a Hero! People expected you to appear in next season! Don't you want to answer to their expectation, Mrs. Kaburagi? Don't you want to be a hero to save people? Don't you want to be Tiger Princess again?"

Kohime stopped listening then and there.

"Tiger Princess couldn't even protect her own family. You won't find a Hero in me, Mr. Lloyd."

Lloyds lost his words.

"If you wanted an icon, look for somebody more—" a flash of Bunny's face: gorgeous, and, Kohime painfully admitted, young, "—beautiful and younger than this housewife."

Then she turned and started to walk out of the room before Lloyds could regain his composure. Lloyds started to give her offers that normally could make her drown in her own saliva, but she ignored it. As for Kaede's skating course money, it wouldn't hurt her if she took a short break until Kohime found a suitable job replacement.

Her phone rang right after the door closed. It was Kaede.

"Hello? What is it, Kaede?"

"_Mom, I think I should stop skating for a while."_

Kohime stopped in her tracks. "Why?"

"_Uncle's ol—I mean vintage car is finally broken beyond repair. He plans to buy a new one, but his saving was used for grandma's treatment last month. He didn't say anything, but…"_

Both of them were silent for a minute. Without his car, her brother couldn't earn half of his income, that was got from delivering alcohols. At that rate, it would be forever before he could save enough money to buy a new car, even a second-hand one. The only way left was to borrow from bank and used Kaede's skating money to help her brother paying it back.

But she didn't even know if she'd have that amount of money from now on. Lloyds' offers sounded far more tempting now.

She shook her head. She couldn't waver now. She had promised to Tomohiko that she wouldn't involve herself in danger anymore! She'd find a way around this, without breaking her promise!

"_Mom?"_

"Ah, sorry, Kaede. Mom spaced out a little there."

"_It's alright," _Kaede said, full of understanding,_ "So I think I'll stop skating for a while. Ok, mom?"_

Kohime was going to say yes when she saw the door to Lloyds' office. The words she said to him just now came back to haunt her.

"_Tiger Princess couldn't even protect her own family. You won't find a Hero in me, Mr. Lloyd."_

A more sinister version of her voice added, "_Yes, even now you can't protect Kaede's dream."_

No.

"_The opportunity—the way out is in front of you. It's inside your hands already, waiting for you to grasp it. But you just refuse to see it. You won't reach it because you are so selfish."_

No.

"_You will just easily give her dreams up for your selfish reasons, won't you? Like you did with Tomohiko."_

"No!" Kohime shouted out loud, startling Kaede. She hastily added, "I mean, you don't have to! Mom is just promoted to a new job. It will be more than enough to pay for your course, and uncle's car in cash!"

Just what was she saying?

"Are you sure, mom?" Kaede asked.

Kohime put a goofy grin on her face and said, "Of course! Trust your mom!" even though her heart was screaming for her to stop this idiocy at once. She promptly ended the conversation before it was getting out of control.

She sighed tiredly and leaned on the wall to gather herself. She found herself wondering what should she do now, since she had promised to Kaede. She cursed her carelessness as she tried to think a way out of this situation.

However, no matter how hard she thought, the answer always came back to Lloyds' office.

"Damn!" she cursed as she swung her fist to the wall. At this kind of time, her mind decided to repeat Tomohiko's last words.

"_Please don't put yourself into the danger anymore."_

Kohime slowly opened her eyes as a realization dawned on her. A crazy idea was being developed in her mind and she couldn't stop it. It was absurd, but she knew it would work. She would be able to pull this off.

When she realized it, she was back in Lloyds' office, facing the excited director. It was obvious that he had listened.

"I will work for you," she began. "But I have conditions that must be met. If you don't like it, I will quit."

Lloyds' smile didn't falter. "Of course."

"First, I don't want to work at Sundays. I want to be able to spend my time with my daughter."

Surprisingly, Lloyds readily agreed with a flat expression. She guessed she must worth more to him than she expected.

"Second, I don't want to use my old name. Tiger Princess sounds too young for me and I don't want people start linking me with the old me."

Lloyds was deflated a bit at there—he must be planning to use that as a leverage for him to make her more popular—but he still agreed.

"Third, I don't want to actively participate. I will do anything, as long as it doesn't put me in danger."

Strangely, Lloyds seems happy at that. "That is no problem. Our plan is to have you as a member of a team of two. You will be playing as your partner's side kick, so it won't be strange if all you do is assist him."

Kohime nodded. "I see." It was slightly better than she expected. She thought she was going to be another Origami Cyclone.

"Is there anything else?"

Kohime was going to shake her head when a question popped in her mind.

"Who is going to be my partner?"

Lloyds' grin told her that she'd regret her decision soon.

* * *

><p>AN: "If you don't like it, I will quit." That line, I always want the real Kotetsu to say that to Lloyds! That guy was too strict to Kotetsu, until the tiger proved otherwise. I was tempted to make it as the last line of this chapter, but I changed my mind.

The image of male Kotetsu kept appearing as I wrote this chapter. It was a good sign since I -think- I was writing his character nicely but it was bad since I can't seem to imagine Kotetsu as a she, despite how good a mama he could be as. I posted it faster than I planned because I'm going to have a trip to Singapore, so I won't be able to write for a few days.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this pretty long chapter, even though there was no Barnaby or other heroes this time. They will certainly appear in next chapter though. Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Kohime & Barnaby**

**Chapter 3: NEXT & Humans**

* * *

><p>"What is that?" Kohime asked in a voice full of distaste.<p>

The scientist, Saito, turned and answered. However, his voice was too low for her to hear. Kohime was forced to bring her ear close to his mouth. Even at that distance, hearing was still a struggle.

"It is your new suit," she finally made out the words.

"Are you kidding?"

As much as she loved her old one, Kohime knew she must wear a new suit. But this **thing** displayed in front of her—a tigerized version of a bunny suit—was so revealing that even Blue Rose's suit looked like a completely closed body armor compared to it.

Kohime looked around for another suits and landed her eyes on a white and green full body armor displayed at the far corner of the room.

"What is that?" Kohime asked the same question, this time full of wonder.

"It's the Wild Tiger suit. We were expecting a male partner for Barnaby—before you came to picture.. It's made so it can—"

"I'll wear that one," Kohime interrupted and went to check it out despite Saito's protests.

"But it's a suit for a man! I even added a voice changer so people won't recognize who's speaking!" Saito shouted, now speaking through a mic.

"Then it's perfect. How do I wear this?" Kohime asked, knocking the suit with her finger.

"You'll have to wear the inner suit for that—LISTEN TO ME!"

Saito shouted so much until his voice became raw. However, when Kohime came back from changing, he became speechless.

"This suit is so tight. Do you have another size?" she asked, completely unaware of Saito staring openly at her perfectly shaped body in awe. Only now he realized the full effect of the lacking of true woman in Hero TV. Blue Rose and Dragon Kid—though they were quite sexy and cute in their own ways—were still too young for Saito's taste.

And up till now, only the men who wore tight-suits. It never occurred to him to make a female wear one.

"It has to be tight fitted…" Saito managed to croak out. He was obviously regretting not making a tight fit suit for other females, but Kohime took no notice of it.

Kohime sighed in defeat. "I see. Can you make it so my body shaped like a man when I wear this suit?"

"Why?" Kohime didn't miss the obvious disappointment in his voice.

"Because I want to pose as a man. It will be the perfect disguise," Kohime said, thinking that this brilliant plan should be able to fool her family.

"No, you can't!"

"Yes I can. If not, I will quit."

"Urrgh… fine! But I need to know your body size!"

Kohime thought about it in three seconds.

"Fair enough. Now help me wear the suit."

Saito turned into stone, shocked at how easy Kohime agreed. He had thought she'd not want to reveal her three size and chose to wear the suit as it was, but he was wrong.

That was how the Wild Tiger born, and the reason why Saito mysteriously wept for days.

* * *

><p>Kohime's Hero career re-start was not smooth. First she thought Antonio was her new partner. And just as she thought how much a horror it would be to assist him, the Hero with Bunny-like ears appeared and claimed that he was her new partner. Ten minutes later, Kohime found herself wishing for Antonio to be her partner. She just couldn't stand that brat and his pompous ways of doing the job!<p>

Lloyd complained quite loudly about her performance and her decision to pose as a man. She couldn't express her true opinion, but she managed to wriggle out by saying that she was out of practice after all these years and how a female posing as a male could attract fans in the future. Luckily Lloyd bought that and ordered her to immediately fix her performance (read: spend some time in training room).

After that Lloyd sent her to Saito, who was not pleased about her way of handling the suit. She was subjected into a long lecture of Wild Tiger suit various functions and perks before she accidentally activated the clock function and saw what time and what date was it.

Kaede's skating—performance? Competition? Kohime couldn't even remember what it was but she was going to be late if she didn't hurry.

"Are you going to come?" Kaede asked through the phone.

"Of course," Kohime replied as she rummaged through her closet for clothes. She'd have to make a stop at flower shop later to buy some flowers for her daughter.

"When? How long will it take?"

"Uuuh…"

Kaede's mood dropped immediately. "You don't have to come if you're too busy, mom."

"No! I'm going to come! I promise! I'm just going to be a little late, that's all!"

Right after she said that, her bracelet beeped and she could hear a male voice ordering her and Barnaby to stand by.

"Uuh, Kaede…" Kohime was going to say that she _might_ not be able to come, but Kaede interrupted her by rambling about her idol, Isaac. Kohime couldn't find enough courage to break her daughter's heart after that.

"I'll never forget that you wasted three minutes of my life," said Barnaby with a slight smile. If it was his attempt to joke, Kohime was not in the mood to appreciate it.

"You don't have any friends, don't you?" she said before getting on her bike and they were silent for the ride.

At the scene, the big brown statue moving again. This time Kohime followed her partner's move to scan the statue and found a kid in the statue's grasp. One look at the child flared her mother instinct up, and she immediately rush to the child, only to be stopped by Barnaby.

"Wait a second. What are you doing?" the red Hero asked, standing on her way.

"I'm saving him, of course!" And you should do the same!

"If my deduction is correct…"

"We don't have time for this!"

"Judging from the fact that no one is around, that child must be moving that stone statue."

Like she cared for that. "Out of the way, boy."

"He's probably a NEXT that can control the things he touched," Barnaby continued, unaffected by Kohime's protests. That was what made her blood boiled.

"Just…move it!"

"That child might be the culprit."

"So what? Even if he is, he's still a child, and he's in danger!" Kohime said before rushing past her partner, only to be stopped again by a hand on her shoulder.

"Your lack of judgement did us in earlier."

"Well, that was…" _Me, too excited and too afraid to be a Hero again._

"I don't trust you. And to be honest I didn't want to team up with you, but it's the company's orders."

The feeling is mutual, brat, Kohime wanted to say, but she said, "Oh, is that so?" instead. Then she turned back to the statue and saw a large shadow casting over them.

She and Barnaby looked up. The last thing they saw was the giant statue poising to hammer them to oblivion.

* * *

><p>Kohime dreamed of how she decided to be a hero—and the first person she rescued.<p>

_It was a week after her episode with bank robbery and Mr. Legend. Kohime was __**dying**__ to use her power for justice. The thing was, such chances were rare for mere civilian (and a kid) like her. Luckily, that chance came when she was walking home from school._

_She saw a kid, someone from her class, was being bullied by upper class kids. It seemed like the seniors were forcing the poor kid for money._

"_Hey! Stop that!" Kohime shouted shrilly, catching the seniors' attention._

"_What is it, pipsqueak?" one of them sneered._

_Kohime ignored the taunt. "Let him go!" No reaction from the seniors. "Or I'll…I'll beat you senseless!" she added, trying to sound as threatening as possible and failed because her voice wavered. _

_The seniors bursted into laughter and began to mock her._

"_Ooooh~ I'm sooo scaared~!" one said, imitating her high pitched voice._

"_Let's run, everyone! Or she'll bite us!"_

"_How come? The kitten has no teeth!"_

"_Or claw!"_

"_Are you kidding? She can't even see! Hahahahahaha!"_

_Kohime saw red. She stomped to the biggest boy of the group and kicked him in the shin. The boy wailed like a hurt dog and started to cry._

_Feeling high and mighty, Kohime gloated, "Who is the pipsqueak now? I haven't even activated my power yet!" _

_Her words froze the kids. They stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time. It took five seconds before one of them shouted._

"_It's Torahime! Run!"_

_The others didn't need to be told twice. They ran like mad, leaving a trail of smoke in the wake and Kohime shouting angrily._

"_It's Kohime, not Torahime! Oi! Why are you running away? Come back! I haven't finished!"_

_When she finished shouting, it was just her and the kid. The kid was still sitting on the ground, shaking in fright._

"_Are you alright? It's ok now. They've gone," Kohime said as she reached for the kid, only to have her hand slapped away._

"_Don't touch me!" the kid yelled in fright before standing up, and run, not even bothering to gather his scattered belongings. _

_Kohime was too shocked to react. She stood there for a while, watching the kid disappear like the seniors. Her chest hurt for an unknown reason. She shook her head, slapped her cheek, and held her head high._

"_Pull yourself together! Being a hero is hard!" she said to herself. The pain was not even lessening, but she found her energy back._

_She began to pick the scattered belongings. Since they were in the same class, she could give it back to the kid tomorrow. She picked up a notebook and read the name on it._

_Antonio Lopez. Class 4B._

* * *

><p>Kohime woke up with a head-splitting headache and found herself in the statue's grasp. She ran a brief check on her body, relieved when she was not hurt, badly, or she'd have to retire early to honor her promise to her husband.<p>

Seeing her awake, Barnaby wasted no time to show off. It seemed that the statue have stopped moving, and Kohime wondered why Barnaby didn't try free himself.

"I can't."

"Huh?"

"Unless I use my power, that is."

Is he stupid? "Then use it already!"

"Our power only last for five minutes. I don't really want to use it here."

"Then Bunny-chan can stay here and do as he pleases!" Kohime said before activating her power

"Wait just a second!"

Kohime stopped. "Now what?"

"I might have misheard you, but did you just call me _Bunny-chan_?"

"Yeah, because you hop around and have long ears like a cute bunny rabbit," Kohime explained mockingly as she imagined real bunny ears replacing the ones on Barnaby's suit. Yes, she was not wrong.

"My name is not Bunny! It's Barnaby!"

Kohime's bully-persona jumped on this. "My name is not Bunny! It's Barnaby!" she said with hands on her head, imitating rabbit ears.

"I didn't say it like that," Barnaby protested. Kohime also repeated that line, until Agnes interrupted them.

This time the kid was on a very-valuable-do-not-scratch-or-else lion statue. Kohime cringed when Agnes mentioned the price and decided then and there to not confront the statue directly. However, she was immediately forced to rethink her decision, for the statue was moving to New Morghen area, where Kaede was located.

_Whatever. I would save the kid, and Kaede! I'll try my best to avoid danger!_

She freed herself and chased the statue. In the midst of flying from building to building, she tried to call Kaede, but it wasn't answered. To make matter worse, when she encountered the NEXT kid who was responsible for this, she only managed to scare him to the very location she didn't want him to go: the skating ring.

The statue entered the ring by crashing to its roof. The rubbles blocked the way out and Kohime was forced to hold it up to allow people escape. Her eyes searched the crowd and the ring for Kaede. She found her laying on the ice, with rubbles raining upon her.

_Kaede!_

Kohime lunged with all her power. Everything seems to slow down as her hand stretched to the limit to reach her daughter.

The rubble landed, and she was still a meter away. Kohime can only stare at the rubble.

"Kaede…"

She had failed to save her family again. Was it because of her breaking the promise? If only she hadn't tried to confront the kid, Kaede would still be alive and skating now.

"Thank you, onii-chan!"

"Heh? Huh?" Kohime turned to the unmistakable voice of her daughter. There she was, in Barnaby's arms, safe and unharmed.

_Just like her mother when she met him for the first time._

Kohime ignored the thought as she walked to Barnaby, who was sending Kaede away. Kohime cleared her throat and struggled to say, "T-thanks."

It surprised Barnaby. "Huh? I don't see any reason why you should be thanking me."

"You're right."

"HELP!"

The shout reminded them that the kid was still there, waiting to be dealt off.

Later…

"You still have some power left."

"Eh? Oh, you're right! That's strange!"

Barnaby sighed. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Persuading that boy. You know we can end it faster and earn points if we'd just arrest him."

"But that doesn't mean it's the better solution, right? With this, we might have another Hero in the future!"

"What a waste of time."

"Bunny-chan, don't you feel like looking at yourself when you look at him?" Kohime asked.

"No, I don't. He doesn't resemble me at all," Barnaby replied. "And stop calling me Bunny."

Kohime growled in frustration. "That's not it! I mean his situation! He's hated by his friends because he's a NEXT and he's even afraid of himself! As a human with NEXT power, can't you sympathize with him?"

"…I've never met people who hate me because I'm a NEXT," Barnaby said like a child not knowing where he did wrong.

"Hmph! How lucky," Kohime said, almost enviously.

"How about you, Tiger-san?" Kohime looked at Barnaby, not understanding his question. "Have you ever been hated by someone because you're a NEXT?"

Kohime looked Barnaby's eyes as she answered: "Yes."

The sound of the wind blowing filled the silence between them.

Suddenly Kohime's face exploded into a cheerful smile. "Don't worry about it! It's an old story! Nowadays, who would hate an awesome Hero like me!" she said as she smacked Barnaby's back multiple times like they were old buddies. Barnaby was almost knocked over by the unexpectedly strong force. "And it's thanks to my best friend and my husband," Kohime added in a low voice before walking away, satisfied with herself, for now at least.

She didn't notice Barnaby staring at strangely at her. His face was a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

"Husband?"

Up in the heaven, Tomohiko sneezed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Bonjour, Heroes,_ let me say what I had to say weeks earlier: thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate the few guys who took the time to review my story and the many who read it! One of you brought up the topic that I should have explained from the beginning: the naming of female Kotetsu. When I created this story, I was not aware that Tetsuko was the 'official' female name for Kotetsu (and a more suiting one). I chose Kohime out of the blue, but I won't change it into Tetsuko, because her name was the reason why she was called "Tiger Princess". I hope you won't mind with this. :D

This chapter is quite long because I forced myself to finish episode 2 timeline, and (f*cking) finally move to Barnaby and Kohime's relationship. I'm quite wasted and thought that this chapter is very rushed, but I'm happy that I finally write something original for Barnaby's dialogue, not copy and pasting! With this I can peacefully have my vacation on the mountain (yes, I'm going to go on a trip _again_).

Just one last thing, I'm wondering if I have put enough Kotetsu in his female counterpart. Maybe you guys can tell me what you saw in Kotetsu and what sides you want to retain in Kohime. I have my own list, but I might have missed some. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it!

**By the way, I've found a picture of 'Tetsuko' from my friend. For those who are having a hard time imagining a female Kotetsu, please take a look at my blog.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Okay, here's the new chapter, I hope it can explain some confusion you had in last chapter. About Kohime's past with Antonio, I am trying to build a reason of why Antonio became a punk in high school, so I am very sorry if it caused confusion on some of you. Enjoy reading!

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><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 4: A Distressed Tiger & a Curious Bunny**

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><p>Barnaby never thought that he could be this annoyed by one person.<p>

Before his debut as Hero, Barnaby thought that the hardest part of the job was competing other Heroes. He didn't expect that working with another Hero was the true challenge. The one to blame was of course his partner, Kaburagi Kotetsu. He had expected that his partner would be a newbie that was as inexperienced as him and eager to work together to gather up points. No. Kotetsu crushed Barnaby's expectation spectacularly.

His partner was no newbie. Despite his idiocy, his behavior was like a person that had been in this business pretty long, take a pause that was as long, and come back. Barnaby couldn't sense any newbie nervousness in him and he also fit quickly to other Heroes, like this was his place all along. His low interest to points and the fact that Lloyds always berated him behind Barnaby's back about how he as senior should behave only supported his theory; that he was a Hero from previous era, called back to fill the Barnaby's Partner spot.

He was not the alone with this theory. Other Heroes were also curious about Kaburagi and formed theories on their own. They were ridiculous. Nathan suspected Kaburagi was actually a woman and Ivan said she might have been related to Tiger Princess—an idea quickly shot down by Blue Rose.

However as time went by, Barnaby began to think that their theories were not baseless. He often found Kaburagi able to follow girls talk, as easily as she did with the boys. Pao Lin often asked his opinion on clothing and accessory. Of course his choices were not that feminine (or even _good_), but it was more than enough for everybody to see the logic behind Nathan's theory. And for the Tiger Princess theory, Antonio said that Kaburagi was like the Tiger Princess, minus the blundering, which happened far too often for Barnaby's liking.

And there was this mysterious 'No Work on Sunday' Rule. Barnaby understood if the man wanted to have some time for himself. The thing was, he never told anybody what he did when asked and nobody ever saw him on Sunday. Of course it was nobody's business what his partner did at his free time, but the way he dodged the question just picked everybody's curiosity.

As curious as everybody was, Barnaby didn't bother to ask, because he was not interested at that kind of camaraderie. At least that was what he thought until the elevator accident. It was right after they exited the building. Kaburagi suddenly excused himself to receive a phone call. Barnaby never intended to eavesdrop—at first.

"I told you, Mom, you're mistaking me for somebody else," Kaburagi's voice leaking from the creak of the door. Barnaby stopped in his tracks. Kaburagi's voice sounds a bit off. It has a higher pitch than usual.

"_Are you trying to fool your mother? You think I won't recognize that ridiculous beard you have worn in your high school?"_ the caller's voice was faint, but hearable.

"Ugh, like I said, you're mistaken! You know how famous I was in my high school. Maybe someone just like that beard," Kaburagi tried to explain in his strange voice again.

"_Then how do you explain the manly voice you are using to me right now? And that hat? I know you won't lose anything Tomohiko made for you, unless I'm mistaken."_

Kaburagi was silent for a moment before answering, "No, mom. You're right."

The caller's voice became gentler. _"Ko—"_

"I know what you want to say, mom. I know I've broken my promise to him. But this is the only way I know to protect my family. Besides, this is only temporary. Once I saved enough for Kaede, I'll—"

"_Don't try to promise. You'll just break it anyway."_

Kaburagi smiled a melancholy smile. "You know me too well, mom."

"_Just remember that I don't want you to be in danger too."_

"I know. I love you, mom."

The call abruptly ended and Barnaby found himself standing in front of the door, now half opened. Feeling embarrassed for his doing, he turned to leave before Kaburagi noticed him. However, to his horror, Kaburagi turned before he could walk away .

"Bunny-chan!" he shouted in surprise in his normal voice. Barnaby's eyebrow twitched. All embarrassment fled, replaced with annoyance.

"My name is not Bunny, it's Barnaby."

"Never mind that. Were you listening?" Kaburagi asked, but it sounded more like accusation.

"Yes, but not on purpose," Barnaby answered honestly. Kaburagi's face broke into a wide grin that didn't sit well with him.

"I never thought Bunny-chan wants to know more about his partner. Want to have some drink and talk about it?" Kaburagi snaked an arm over Barnaby's shoulders as he asked. Barnaby quickly escaped before it tightened around his neck.

"I refuse. I already know more than enough about you."

"Don't be embarrassed. I know you're _dying_ to know me."

"I am not. Unlike you, I am not interested in meddling my partner's business," Barnaby said, a bit sharper than he expected. Kaburagi looked hurt, but it didn't keep him from trying one last time.

"It's not meddling, it's getting to know with each other. We are partners. How are we supposed to work together if we don't know each other?"

"I think we were fine with knowing just name and qualities," Barnaby said, referring to the bombing incident just now.

"You don't even know half of mine." Barnaby almost missed the words Kaburagi said under his breath. "Well, just call me if you changed your mind. I'm still going."

I won't, Barnaby wanted to say. But Kaburagi was already gone, leaving him alone to answer the reporters.

He didn't expect to meet with his partner again when he went home. Kaburagi was staggering through the road with the help from Rock Bison Hero, Antonio. It was obvious he was drunk into oblivion. Even years later, Barnaby wouldn't know what made him stopped by and offered to ride them home. Antonio refused at first, saying that Kotetsu was weak against cars when drunk, hence why they walked. But he accepted after Barnaby assured him that his car didn't jolt so much.

"What happened to him?" Barnaby finally asked, not able to contain his curiosity. They succeeded greatly with the bomb, but Kotetsu looked like a stressed man trying to drown his emotions and himself in alcohol.

"S-He felt he has broken his last promise to his most important person," Antonio answered vaguely.

"Is it his husband?" Barnaby asked before he could stop himself. Seemed like the question had been nagging him more than he knew. He could feel Antonio's eyes drilling at the back of his head.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"He mentioned it to me. Once."

Antonio drew a long breath before speaking, "It's not my place to say."

"I see."

They continued the ride in silence. When they finally arrived at Kotetsu's apartment, Barnaby was surprised. The place was small and a little bit run-down. It looked like a place for a penniless person, only enough for sleeping but not living.

Barnaby stepped out of the car to help Antonio climb the stair and open the door. When he stepped inside, his nose twitched at the moldy smell of the room. It was a small, four tatami sized Japanese styled room. The toilet and the kitchen set was right at the front door. Barnaby hold Kotetsu for Antonio as the man set the futon for Kotetsu to sleep. A picture frame on a small table in the corner captured the blond Hero's attention.

It was a picture of three people. Barnaby found its situation strikingly similar to his own family picture; a smiling father and mother with their child in between. Even from the distance, Barnaby recognized the mother as Kotetsu. There was no mistaking that goofy smile and features. The father must be her husband.

So Nathan was right. Kotetsu was actually a woman.

_So that's why he—she said I don't even know half of her name…_

It made Barnaby wondered just what kind of promise she made to her husband?

"Not…danger…"

Barnaby almost dropped Kotetsu in surprise. It seemed that he had voiced his wonder out loud without realizing.

"Not being in danger…" Kotetsu said, unmistakably in a woman voice. She didn't recognize it was Barnaby she was speaking to.

"Then why didn't you leave me back then?" Barnaby found himself asking.

"A Hero doesn't leave anyone, especially his partner," Kotetsu slurred her talk, giving the same 'Hero Should Be' speech. Barnaby was going to drop her when she continued. "Between leaving a brat like you in the face of danger and a promise to a dead husband, it's obvious which I'd choose," Kotetsu said bitterly before pausing, as if she just recognizing her own speech. She blinked, her eyes were watery. "Tomohiko…I'm sorry."

It was then when Antonio appeared. The big guy took Kotetsu from Barnaby and glared at the boy. Suddenly Barnaby felt very conscious of his previous action. He had asked private questions to Kotetsu when she was at the most vulnerable. He was ashamed to find himself a worse meddler than his partner.

"So now you know," Antonio said when they were outside.

"I'm sorry," Barnaby said, feeling very guilty.

"Say that to her. I knew I shouldn't have accepted your offer but what choice did I have?" Antonio turned to glare at Barnaby again. "I trust you to keep this to yourself."

"I don't have the plan to do otherwise," Barnaby replied.

The next morning in the training room, Barnaby calmly lift the weight as he watched Kotetsu and Antonio fought with each other. Luckily the others weren't there yet so they could safely fight their private fight.

"Why did you tell him?" Kotetsu's voice was shrill.

"I didn't! You're the one who told him!"

Barnaby suddenly found himself pinned under Kotetsu's angry gaze. "Is it true?" she demanded, not bothering to speak in manly voice.

A nod from Barnaby sent her seething like never before. She pointed her finger accusingly at Antonio and said, "It's all your fault. You shouldn't have brought him to my home. I thought I could trust you!"

Tired of watching, Barnaby decided to step in. "Please stop blaming him, Tiger-san. I am the one who offered him help. He's not completely at fault—"

"But—"

"—and if I'm not mistaken, weren't you the one who said 'How are we supposed to work together if we don't know each other'?" Barnaby said, calmly repeating Kotetsu's words, smirking as he did so.

"You cocky brat…don't try to use my words against me. I don't even know something about you!"

"You know my name and my face. That's more than enough."

"Why you…"

Barnaby could sense Kotetsu was trying hard to not strangle him, so he wisely got up and walked to the door.

"Wait! Don't run away!" Kotetsu tried to chase him but was stopped by Antonio. The man sent an appreciative nod and 'go, I will take care of here' look to Barnaby before trying to calm Kotetsu. Barnaby couldn't keep the satisfied grin off his face as he exited the room.

Someday, maybe sometime, he'd tell her something about him. Just to make it fair.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** let me rant a moment before I let you read my story.

F*CK YOU SUNRISE! YOU BETTER FIX THAT NEXT WEEK! I DON'T WANT TIGER & BUNNY END IN TRAGEDY!

Okay, now I got that out, I'm pleased to announce that with this chapter, the fic was approximately half way done. I never plan it to be long so I hope I can finish it in ten chapters. I hope.

Please enjoy the fic as you wait for Sunrise to fix that mess they made. :)

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><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 5: Answered Tiger & Smiling Bunny**

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><p><strong>Part 1<strong>

Barnaby didn't know when it started. He thought it was a normal thing in partner relationship. He knew Kohime treated him like he was a teenage son she didn't have. Childish, but adult enough to earn her respect and trust. Barnaby thought her as a meddling auntie, but a worthy partner. She might be a slow idiot but she was not brainless.

Barnaby never knew when he started to see Kohime as more than a partner. It might have started the first time he truly see her as a woman—regardless how manly she acted around him. But it might start earlier, when he consciously tried to erase the depressed look from her face.

It was a boring day in Apollon Media. Its lounge was occupied by the company's two Heroes. Kohime watched a re-run of Hero TV while Barnaby enjoyed his tea. They were minding they own business, until…

"_There it is! Blue Rose's Cutie Escape!"_

Kohime sighed. "Aaah, I want to do that too."

Barnaby's hand froze in mid air. "Do what?"

"Cutie Escape. If I could run away without destroying my image it'd be much easier to keep my promise," Kohime said as she twirled her hat.

"Why bother keeping a promise that's already broken? And you know the word cute doesn't suit you," Barnaby mercilessly pointed out, but Kohime was too deep in thought to notice.

"Because I have to keep the promise. But you're right about the name. Maybe I should change the name into 'Hottie Escape'," Kohime said as she tried some escape poses. Most of them were desperately cute or feminine, which clashed horribly with Kohime's manly disguise. It was like looking at Nathan inside Antonio's body.

"Stop that. You're creeping me out."

"You speak like that because you haven't seen my stuff, brat. Back then they worshipped my body."

"It was _then_, old man."

"Don't call me old, _Bunny-chan_."

"Sorry, I forgot you're an _auntie_."

A shadow of a vicious tiger and a macho sunglassed rabbit rose behind them. Luckily Hero TV called them for action before they exploded into a full blown fight.

After their episode with civilian car, Kohime and Barnaby leaned on the building's railing, speaking as they waited for their motorcycle to be brought back. Kohime faced the road with her hands supporting her head while Barnaby had his back leaned on the concrete wall.

Kohime sighed. "I really am so lame, huh?"

"So you finally realize."

Kohime glared at him but continue speaking, "Accusing her for not being serious in this business while I am no different."

For a moment there was no reply from Barnaby. Kohime seems okay with it. She was content to mull over her problems in silence.

"Are you talking about you attempting to do Cutie Escape?" Barnaby finally asked, remembering his partner's previous foolish actions.

Kohime sighed again. "The old me wouldn't even think about escaping," she said bitterly as she got up to leave.

"Wait."

Kohime stopped and turned. "What?"

"I do not think someone that won't leave his partner is not serious in his job."

Barnaby's words took Kohime by surprise. Barnaby's stillness somehow convinced Kohime that he was serious in his words.

A notice appeared inside their mask. Their bike had arrived.

"Let's go, Tiger-san," Barnaby said, already walking before he started to speak.

Kohime made no move nor sound. She waited until Barnaby walked pass her before saying, "Thank you, Barnaby," with a smile under her mask.

Barnaby didn't reply. He just continued to walk with a slight grin on his face, happy when Kohime said his name. It almost felt like he was a boy again, thinking himself as the best boy in the world after a shower of praises from his parents.

Barnaby's first attempt to make Kohime smile succeeded. And it certainly won't be the last.

* * *

><p><strong>Part 2<strong>

Kohime thought that she wouldn't obtain peace with her mind until she stopped working as Hero. She never expected the answer of her problem laid in Blue Rose, the Hero who seemed not serious in her job.

"Hey, why do you sing?" Kohime asked Karina, starting to fear Kaede would be like Karina when she was in her age.

Karina looked at her with fierce eyes as she answered, "I did it because I like it."

Kohime's breath hitched in her throat. She looked like she had been blasted full power with Blue Rose's ice gun.

Karina missed the look of realization on Kohime's face and continued the conversation. It was after she left Kohime alone that the woman could ponder about the answer she just got.

_That's it. _That was her answer to the question that haunted her since she became a Hero again. Why did she continue become a Hero, despite the promise she made to her husband? It was not money. It was not Kaede. It was not family. It was because she liked it.

Kohime loved helping people. Seeing their relieved, smiling faces after she saved them made her felt very good. She never thought about money, points, or whatever it was they gave to pay her service. Their smiles and thanks was all she needed. It was all she needed to know that her powers were not just for hurting people.

It reminded her of Tomohiko. He used to smile proudly and happily when she talked about the criminals she just captured or the girl she saved. He used to look at her with worried eyes as she went to work, but hide it with an encouraging smile.

Yes, despite how worried he was, Tomohiko never stopped her. Tomohiko understood her completely. Kohime was a Hero, with sponsor or not. It was a part of her, and Tomohiko knew he would not be able to separate that from her. Being not able to protect her was only thing he regretted.

The memory of that day came back again. Fire was around her and she failed to notice the collapsing ceiling, until Tomohiko pushed her away.

"_Tomohiko! Hang in there!" Kohime shouted desperately as she used the last of her power to lift the concrete. She gasped when she could see her husband. He was stabbed in the stomach with a metal pole that was as wide as a soccer ball. Blood trickled from his mouth, eyes glazed from the excruciating pain._

_Kohime knew she should not remove the pole from the wound, but her power was running out. She wouldn't be able to lift both the man and the heavy pole to escape the burning building without her power, so the best bet was to quickly escape the building. _

"_I'm sorry for this, dear," she said, warning Tomohiko before pulling the pole as quickly as she could. Her heart wrenched when she heard the howl of pain from her husband. Her power died right after she threw away the pole. She quickly gave a simple treatment to the wound before moving him._

_The whole way down, she kept calling his name, to keep him conscious. They were at the third floor when Tomohiko asked her to stop._

"_No, it's just a little bit more," Kohime refused as she continued to trudge down the stairs. But Tomohiko suddenly collapsed, dragging her and the kid with him. Kohime tried to lift him again but Tomohiko stopped him. _

"_Torahime… look at… me…" Tomohiko said between gasps, calling Kohime with the nickname he gave. Kohime looked at him, and it became harder to hold back her tears._

_Tomohiko sighed as he drank the sight of his wife with glazed eyes. He reached with a bloodied hand to touch and stroke her cheek. _

"_It's painful…" he whispered._

"_I know, dear. Please hang in there," Kohime said as she grasped the hand on her cheek tightly._

_Tomohiko continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "It's painful…to not being able to… protect you… I cannot even stop you from facing dangers…"_

"_You idiot. Is that why you came here? I won't be hurt much with my power and suit, but you…you—!" Kohime was so angry and sad that she couldn't finish her sentence._

"_I know…but I can't stop trying…" Tomohiko said with a chuckle that made him cough blood._

"_Tomohiko, stop talking now," Kohime ordered. _

_Tomohiko didn't obey it. He began to stroke Kohime's cheek once again as he talked, "Torahime, my… beloved Tiger Princess… So beautiful…so fierce but…gentle… please… please don't put yourself into the danger anymore…"_

_Kohime could no longer hold her tears. "Tomohiko…no…stop talking like that…stop talking like you're going to die!"_

"_Promise me," Tomohiko said as he grasped her hand with an unlikely strength for a dying man. His expression was determined, just like the day he asked Kohime to be his wife. Kohime once again found herself not being able to say no to those eyes._

"_I promise," Kohime said with a voice steadier than her heart._

_Tomohiko smiled and whispered "I love you" before closing his eyes forever._

The realization struck Kohime like a thunder. When Tomohiko asked her to stay away from danger, he didn't ask her to stop being a Hero, because he knew she couldn't. He must be desperate to seek a way to protect her that he made her promise him, because that was the only thing he could do. He could easily made her promise to stop being a Hero, but he did not. Even in his final moment, Tomohiko kept to be the supporting husband he had been.

"I'm an idiot," Kohime whispered, cursing herself for not realizing it faster. Tomohiko was her husband, yet it took her years to realize the true meaning of his last words. Joy, sadness, relief, regret… she didn't know what to feel anymore.

She quickly gulped down her drink and immediately ordered another one. As she waited, she called Antonio and asked him to accompany her drinking then ended the call before the man could respond. Spending the night drinking in her friend's company as she sorted her feelings seemed to be the best course. After all, alcohol and friends were created for times like this.

* * *

><p>Antonio blinked for a moment before gathering himself to go. His friend sounded like she was going to have another hysteria so there was no way he'd leave her alone. He dreaded for the long night with the woman but he was not unprepared.<p>

A few hours later he stood in front of a red car with Kohime's arm slung over his shoulder, giving the annoyed driver an apologizing look as he waited for him to invite them in.

"Get in."

Antonio had to admit; it was a good thing that he had asked Barnaby's number.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Not entirely satisfied with the ending of season 1, but at least Kotetsu lives *nodding approvingly*. I hope you enjoy this chapter even though it was short. Writing this piece made me think of how many clues to Kotetsu and Barnaby's relationship that I missed. Happy reading!

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><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 6: Present & Meaning**

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><p>Today, a very unusual sight could be seen in the Heroes lounge. It was not because there was no Wild Tiger—because this was Sunday, his day off—but because of Pao Lin reading a very girlish magazine. The sparkly and pinkish cover of the magazine looked so odd in her hands but nobody mentioned anything to her or stare. Let the tomboy grew up to be a girl, they thought.<p>

"Hmm… HMMM…"

"What is it, Pao Lin-san?" Ivan asked, a little bit unnerved to see the tomboyish Hero to read a female magazine so seriously like it was a life-changing book. There was no great reason behind her reading the magazine—it was just because it was the closest thing in her reach.

"I never thought giving present is such a complicated thing. It made me regret giving a doll to Barnaby-san," Pao Lin explained with a sigh.

That caught everybody's attention.

"Huh? Why?"

Pao Lin showed the page she had been reading. The title of the article was perfectly self explanatory: _"Meaning Behind Gifts—How to Judge how much They Love You". _

"It said that dolls are usually given from someone who's busy, so the receiver can hold the doll whenever he or she misses giver," Pao Lin said with a such worried look that everyone couldn't help but exploding into laughter. Even Barnaby smiled at her innocence.

"Pao Lin, I think our present is a bit different. It's a present from everybody, remember?" Karina said after she could control her laugh.

"So what does our present mean?" Pao Lin asked back.

"Uuuh…"

"It doesn't mean anything in particular. We just want to give something to him for his birthday and it just happened to be a doll," Nathan explained.

"In other words, a wish for a happy birthday, right?" Ivan concluded, earning an approval from Keith.

"Well said, and again, well said!"

"I see… Then… how about Tiger-san's present?" Pao Lin.

Karina quickly grabbed the magazine from Pao Lin. "They don't mention 'criminal' here, but we can improvise."

Soon, everyone in the room—except Barnaby—was involved in determining which category Kotetsu's present fell into. Pao Lin was the first to offer her theory.

"Umm, how about money? Points can mean money, right? I mean if you managed to be MVP, you got the money prize."

"That's reading too far. You can't be an MVP just from 200 points."

"I think and again I think, it must be a pet!"

"Uuuh, Keith-san, that's…"

"It must be service. I can understand the desire to do something to make Handsome happy."

"You mean a gesture of giving or doing something they want? It said it's a pretty standard for people who love the receiver very much…or just have no idea what to give."

"That's more like Kotetsu."

"What else in there?"

"Jewelry. That's the last one. But nobody wears a criminal."

"But come to think of it, the criminal is a NEXT who can turn to diamond, right?"

"…"

"I'll just check it."

The mention of diamond caught Barnaby's interest. The blond openly watched Karina as the girl's eyes attacked the article with no mercy. When she was starting to make humming sounds like Pao Lin, everybody started to get impatient.

"What is it?" Antonio asked.

"It said: 'Diamond is a symbol of eternity. When someone gives a diamond it means they are serious with you or they want to say that they forever love you...'" Karina's voice slowed down to a halt, as if she just realized what she was implying.

The room fell silent as all Heroes looked to Barnaby.

"You are taking it too far," Barnaby said flatly, but his eyes were hidden behind the glint of his glasses. And if they knew him as well as Kotetsu, they'd notice the faint blush on his cheeks.

"Y-yes, Kotetsu is not that complex," Antonio said, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

At her home, Kohime sneezed loudly.

"Someone must be talking about you," her brother, Muramasa teased. The family was eating their lunch together in the dining room. Kaede was not present in the room since she got a call from her friend.

"They better not badmouthing me," Kohime said before she took a large bite of karaage.

"By the way, how's your partner present? Did you finally found something for him?" her mother asked.

"Well, I tried to take aniki's advice, but then I saw him buying a world class wine like it's a regular drink. Mom's advice also didn't work since I don't have the time to make a cake," Kohime said with her mouth full, earning a frown from her mom.

"So what did you give to him?" Muramasa asked.

"A chance to arrest the criminal. All he wanted is points, so I gave that to him. He complained, but I think he was happy with it, since he was grinning."

"Ara ara, that's nice of you," her mother said with a smile.

"I know. Aren't I awesome?" Kohime boasted.

Both Kohime and her mother completely missed Muramasa sighing in relief. He was worried. After all, his little sister had quite a history about misleading people with her gifts. Especially that one time with Antonio on a cold Valentine night.

"_Aniki!"_

"_Huh?" Why did he suddenly call him Aniki? And why was he sitting seiza style, posing to bow like he was going to ask a big favor from him?_

"_I… I promise to take care of her! Please let me date her!"_

"_**WHAT**__?"_

_That_ was not going to repeat. Ever since then, Muramasa paid close attention to what shape of chocolate Kohime would give to Antonio and her other male friends. He also made sure that Kohime would discuss with him before she gave something to others. He was worried that his and mother's advice didn't work, but luckily it turned out okay. After all, her present couldn't have other meaning besides giving what her partner wanted.

If Muramasa had known that the NEXT was a diamond turning one, he'd call and explain to the blond Hero about his sister's misleading gift. The explanation might be able to prevent Barnaby from pausing too long in front of a jewelry store.

The others continued their heated discussion even after Barnaby left the lounge to escape their madness.

"So, whose birthday is next?"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: Thank you for the reviews! I didn't expect you'd like the Valentine memory so much. It was done out of the blue. :D

This chapter is hard. Muramasa is hard. Coz I never saw him defending Kotetsu from… potentially dangerous people. If he sounds or feels like OOC, please tell me. I'd try to do something about it.

Enough of my rambling. Enjoy this chapter!

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><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 7: Number & Calls**

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><p>Everybody didn't know what happened, but ever since Blue Rose's incident, Kohime had been ten times more cheerful than usual. When they asked Antonio, he only said she had found a new way to look at life. A very vague but true answer.<p>

Before, Barnaby didn't like the depressing look on her face, but now he wanted nothing more than to wipe that idiotic smile off her face. Especially now.

"Bun-ny-chaaa~n~" Kohime sang as she perched on the desk, looking like a giant cat ready to pounce a mice. It wasn't hard to imagine a cat's tail swishing behind her. Or a demon's pointy tail.

"It's Barnaby," Barnaby corrected like a broken record, not even lifting his head from the paperwork he had been intimate with for the past hours. Kohime hummed happily although she got no reaction beyond that. When Barnaby finally tired with her humming, the blond went to ask,

"What is it, old man?"

"Tell me your phone number."

Barnaby lifted his head to stare at the grinning pseudo man. "Do I have to?"

Kohime nodded.

"Why? We have our Hero bracelet."

"Yes, but what if you lost it or broke it? What if you decided to ignore all people's call like before?" Kohime asked, referring to the time where Barnaby refused to answer any call, and she was forced to pair up with Blue Rose. She didn't have any qualms about the girl, but it was clear they were not made to work with each other.

"So you just want to have more gadgets to call? No thanks. I have enough of your meddling," Barnaby said coldly as he went back to work.

"I'm not meddling. This is necessary. I will also give my phone number to you."

Barnaby paused at that. He was actually _considering_ it. But he quickly shook his head before the thought came to mind. So what if he had Kohime's number? It wasn't like he was going to text or call her. It was more than enough that they spent most of their days together.

Come to think of it, Kohime was the third woman he spent time mostly with, beside his mom and Aunt Samantha. Sure it was working, but it was almost like they live together; taking lunch together, chatting, do jobs, etc. So it should be normal if he felt—

"Bunny? Oi Bunny? Barnaby-saaaan?" Kohime called and waved her hand in front of his face, snapping Barnaby from his musing.

"I don't need your number," Barnaby said and immediately regretted it.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'll just give it to you in case you need it." Kohime took Barnaby's own name card from his desk and scribbled her number at its back side. Barnaby opened his mouth to protest but Kohime shoved the number to his hands before he could. "Don't lose it," she said before going back to her own desk.

Barnaby stared at the number in his hand and later stored it into his pocket. He kept taking it out and tried to save it to his phone whenever he was alone. Each time he stopped himself and hurriedly put it back to his pocket. It happened so often that the name card was now very crumpled. It was going to tear sooner or later, but Barnaby still couldn't do it.

Eventually the shits that happened around him took his mind away from it. He looked for it later when his mind was filled with worry to Kohime, instead of hatred to Ouroboros and Lunatic. He wanted to call to ask for her wounds—the one she got from taking the shot that was meant for him. But when he put his hand in his pocket, he realized that the card was missing.

_Shit._

Barnaby tore his apartment apart as he tried to find the piece of paper. But the card was nowhere to be found, even in his old laundry. The blond man despaired. There was _no way_ he would ask for her number after all that. He sulked for at least half an hour before he remembered Antonio.

Barnaby jumped to his feet. Yes, Antonio was Kohime's friend. He should had her number. It took less than three minutes to get the number from Antonio. It was fortunate that the big man didn't question why Barnaby wanted Kohime's number, because Barnaby was unsure if he could answer.

Barnaby immediately dialed the number and waited. When it was connected, he immediately asked, "Old man, how's your wound?"

"…_Who is this?"_

It was a man speaking, but it was not Kohime's manly voice. He might had been connected to a wrong number.

Barnaby quickly cleared his throat and asked, "Excuse me, sir. Is this Kaburagi Kohime's number?"

"_Yes, it is. I am Kaburagi Muramasa, her big brother. And you are?"_ the man repeated his question.

Barnaby felt his insides went cold. So this was the big brother Antonio had told him about. Cross any Kaburagi and he was the one you'd face. NEXT or not, you'd find him worse than yakuza boss. It was said that he couldd get you even faster than his NEXT sister. Particularly not the kind of man Barnaby look forward to meet to.

Barnaby contemplated for a moment before giving his name. "I am her partner, Barnaby Brooks Jr. May I speak with Kohime?" Barnaby asked, feeling strange to call Kohime with her real name.

"_Unfortunately, my little sister left her phone in my shop. You won't be able to reach her with this number until next Sunday."_

_That was so like her._ Barnaby thought, blaming his current predicament to the tigress.

"I see. Sorry for disturbing you." Barnaby tried to end the call but stopped by Muramasa.

"_Wait. Did you say she is wounded?"_

"Yes Sir."

"_How bad?"_

"…I don't know, Sir." _That's why I wanted to ask her._

"_How did she get hurt?"_

"She took an attack that was meant for me."

"_Are you really the stronger one?"_

Barnaby frowned. What's that supposed to mean?

"_If you're as strong as they said, you should be able to take care of yourself so people won't have to protect you. So why is my sister taking care of an incapable kid like you?"_

Those words cut so deep that Barnaby was left speechless.

"_Are you not going to say something?"_

Barnaby struggled with his voice before saying it loud and clear:

"That is because we are **partners**. We take care of each other."

With that Barnaby slammed the wireless phone to his table, killing it in the process.

How dare he…how dare he talked like that to him! It was none of his business how Heroes do their things! Well, it was his business if his sister got hurt, but for him to preach over something he was not into…_as if he knew!_ He was an idiot to expect that the older Kaburagi would not be a meddler like his sister.

But Barnaby realized that Muramasa wasn't wrong. He was supposed to be the stronger and more capable one of the duo. He shouldn't be the one that drag people down. He should be the one who took dangerous blows. He couldn't help but felt challenged by Muramasa.

"Just wait you old man. I'll show you," Barnaby promised.

In the mean time, Muramasa checked the call history and didn't hesitate to delete Barnaby's call history. He wasn't going to let a weakling—let alone a kid—got close to his sister and hurt her. Tomohiko and Antonio were enough.

Of course he could not and should not meddle with his sister's love life, but at least until he proved himself, Kohime wouldn't have the kid's number—that was what Muramasa decided. Kohime might be a Hero, but she was suck when it came to love. Muramasa started to think that he'd continue to screen her suitors even after she remarried.

And thus begun the cold war between Barnaby and Muramasa. It happened while the said partner/sister was sleeping peacefully, drooling on her white tiger doll and unaware of the events that was revolved around her.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Oh wow, this chapter was longer than I imagined. This chapter was a little bit based on the fourth drama CD so there might be some unknown information for those who haven't heard it (please do hear it, it was HILARIOUS). I decided to call Barnaby's house as mansion, since in Japan, an apartment was not as tall as a mansion. I hope that could clear some confusion.

One of the reviewer, _Sha Moli,_ asked if it will be still one side for Barnaby and Kohime. I can only say that in this story, Barnaby will keep trying to win Kohime's heart. Whether he wins it or not can be seen in the last two chapters (+ epilogue if I feel I need it).

Anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing. Please enjoy the story!

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><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 8: Mother & Child**

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><p>The Heroes hang up together even though they were rivals. It was usual to see Kotetsu with Barnaby or Antonio. It was also usual to see Keith and Ivan chatting—or rather Keith talked and Ivan listen—as they did exercises together in the gym. Even Nathan, Karina, and Pao Lin were widely admitted as the official trio.<p>

So when Barnaby and Nathan were walking together side by side, people concluded that they had some business. Or something very wrong had happened.

Nathan calmly poured the tea as she waited for Barnaby to start talking. The handsome guy had suddenly asked him to talk privately so Nathan took him to her cafe, where the host recruitment disaster involving Keith and Ivan occurred. There was almost no customer at this time of day, so they got the privacy they wanted.

"Nathan-san," Barnaby said, eyes still glued to the cup he was holding.

Nathan immediately responded at the call of her real name, "Yes, Handsome? What can I do for you?"

Barnaby didn't answer immediately. He was trying to find the right words for his question. Finally he just shook his head and asked, "Do you know how to make someone fall in love with you?"

Nathan almost dropped the pot of tea she was holding. She was fully expecting him to ask her to stop calling him handsome or being clingy to him. She quickly recovered and teased, "Oh my, you are falling in love with someone, Handsome? If she was me, you only have to confess to make me fall in love with you." She almost asked why he came to her to have a love consultation, but held herself back.

As expected, Barnaby coldly denied it. "It's not you, Fire Emblem-san."

Nathan pouted and let out a snort that sounds so close to a pig's. Then her face went back to normal as she went to her 'businesswoman mode'.

"I don't think someone like you won't have trouble to make women falling in love with you, Handsome. Look at me and your fans," she said as she spread her arms wide.

"That's because you and they are only attracted to my looks."

"Are you saying the one you loved is not attracted to your face? Just who do you fall in love to? Tiger-san?" Barnaby went still at that. An incredulous look started to form on Nathan's face. "Oi oi, don't tell me…" Nathan trailed off, but Barnaby didn't say anything. If any, the blond's silence only seemed to confirm it.

Nathan sighed and laid back to her red sofa. "I knew it. I should have seen this."

Barnaby immediately snapped up his head to look at Nathan. "You knew?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes. From the day I knew Tiger-san is not a man, I almost expected something like this might happen. Love between co-workers is not uncommon in my company."

"How do you know?" Barnaby asked.

"Women's intuition. I felt something wrong with her and then I researched. Pretty easy if you know where to look." Nathan smiled at the expression Barnaby was making. "It's not only me. Origami-kun also knew. He's unexpectedly observant for a guy who kept hiding himself in background. But still," she sighed again. "I was expecting Antonio, not you."

"He's just a friend," Barnaby dismissed at the mention of love rival potential. He had seen how Kohime and Antonio spend their time together. They were too best friend to be a lover.

"I know, I know. You don't need to be mad, Handsome. However I still don't see the problem. Tiger-san doesn't seem to hate you."

This time it was Barnaby's turn to sigh. "It might be better if she hated me."

"Why?"

"Because she saw me as a son. How do you make someone fall in love with you if they see you as a kid?"

Nathan was silent for a moment before asking, "How do you know that she saw you as a son?"

"It was…" And Barnaby's mind went back to the night when Kohime, Pao Lin, and the mayor's baby visited his mansion to sleep over.

The reason why Barnaby gave up his mansion to them was because he had seen Kohime's apartment and knew that it was not a good place for a baby to stay. It was pretty clean but too narrow and stuffy. Even though she could rent a better apartment with her wage as Hero, she still refused to do it since she wanted to save for Kaede. Barnaby didn't like to had his house trashed by the baby and Kohime but he found that it was a cheap price to pay when he saw Kohime in her black tank top. It was his first time seeing her without her male disguise—even her suit was designed so she looked like she was a male— and he found that Kohime was right about 'her stuff'. Barnaby couldn't help but stare until Kohime teased him to embarassment.

_It was after their conversation about Ouroboros. Kohime started to get drunk and rant about her family. The still sober Barnaby couldn't help but listen with a tested patience as she boasted about her daughter and sometimes her late husband. But he listened very well at the mention of Muramasa, her big brother. It seemed that she was unaware of her big brother's protective nature and saw her as a straight-laced bastard (Barnaby agreed here). It was when she started to talk about 'what-if's that things started to go annoying for Barnaby._

"_Nee nee Barnaby."_

"_What?"_

"_I like you."_

_Any sign of drunkenness immediately left Barnaby. He found himself didn't know what to feel. In one side he knew he should feel happy and in the other he was unsure if he should. He opened his mouth to say something but Kohime beat him._

"_If I were to have a son, I wanted him to be like you. Smart, good-looking, and kind. I won't mind if he was sometimes a jerk if he loved his parents like you do."_

_Barnaby almost face palmed. It was just like her to get people's hope up and then brought it down to the lowest level possible. Sure, she praised him, but Barnaby found himself disliking her statement._

"_But I don't want you to like me as a son," he blurted out. Realization hit him as soon as the words left his mouth. He didn't want her to see him like a son. He wanted her to see him like a man, and to like him as a man. For the first time in his life, Barnaby fully realized he had fallen in love. He had been trying to deny it, but now that he knew, he would not be able to escape it. He had fallen in love with Kohime and fell hard. _

_He glanced at Kohime, who was now sleeping peacefully under the spell of alcohol. She must not have heard him saying that. _

_Barnaby decided that he didn't want to think now and followed her example. He gulped his most alcoholic drink available and fell unconscious before he knew it._

Barnaby ended his story and Nathan suddenly understood why the blond looked like he just had a marathon in a level 8 typhoon.

"What should I do?" Barnaby asked to no one in particular, still deep inside his own mind. His hands clutched his hair in frustration.

Nathan frowned, couldn't bear herself to see him like this.

"Barnaby-kun," Nathan called and earned an undivided attention from Barnaby. "Why don't you show that you love her?"

"How?" Barnaby asked, looking like a genuinely confused child. Usually that expression could make Nathan squeal for its adorableness, but now was not the time.

"You can confess." The look of Barnaby's face made her quickly added, "Or take her on a date or more before you do it. You can also give her presents." Nathan still couldn't believe what she was telling Barnaby Brooks Jr.

"Won't she feel strange about it?" Barnaby asked.

"Of course she will! That was how you get her attention. As time passed, she'll realize that you love her. Then you can confess and she'll love you forever!" Nathan said passionately, the last part was a bit carried away by her own romance filled mind.

Barnaby just looked at her skeptically and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Of course! Trust this maiden heart!"

Barnaby looked like he wanted to say something about her not being a maiden, but he instead asked, "Are you sure that this will work for Kotetsu?" the man wanted to add 'the idiot' but Nathan caught his message.

"You can kiss her when all things fail. Nothing tells more than a kiss," Nathan said and Barnaby found himself agreeing with the woman wannabe.

"Now, please give me a kiss of gratitude," Nathan said as she made a kissing motion with her lips and drew herself to Barnaby.

"Wait! No—" Barnaby tried to get away but Nathan quickly held him in place. She was surprisingly strong for someone so skinny.

"Don't be shy, Handsome-kun. Just think of it as a practice before doing the real thing with Tiger-san," Nathan said as her face got closer to Barnaby's. The distance was merely ten centimeters now.

"But it is my _first kiss_!" Barnaby squeals in panic.

Suddenly the door opened and a familiar voice resounded through the cafe.

"Fire Emblem! I come, and again I come, for your lemonade!"

Both Barnaby and Nathan turned their heads and saw Keith, his dog John, and Ivan standing at the doorway. Ivan was the first to notice the peculiar position Barnaby and Nathan were in and froze like a criminal shot with Blue Rose's gun. In the other hand, Keith was amazingly oblivious to it.

"Ya, Barnaby-kun! Are you practicing to be a host?" Keith asked as if it was no big deal.

Barnaby and Nathan didn't know what to say to that King of Oblivious. They just stared until Ivan took the initiative to get their asses out of the cafe.

"Sorry to disturb you, Fire Emblem-san, Barnaby-san! Please excuse us!" And then with the strength of panicked man the boy dragged the bigger man and his dog out of the cafe.

Both Barnaby and Nathan could hear the King of Heroes saying something about not getting his lemonade yet before Barnaby realized something. He quickly got up, sending Nathan to the floor, and chased the two Heroes screaming, "No! You're wrong! This is not what it seemed!"

Nathan nursed her butt as she pondered on Sky High's idea. Barnaby as host. That was not a bad idea. She sighed dreamily as she started to plan for her new business project involving the poor Hero that was chasing his rivals to straighten their misunderstanding.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I have sinned to you guys, for denying the enjoyment of reading new chapters for two weeks. This was because I don't feel satisfied and kept re-writing the chapters (yeah, you may call that writer's block). But enough for excuses, I hope you'll forgive me with this double update.

Reply for some reviewers:

_Sha Moli_: Thank you for the correction, I'll fix it fast.

_Mawe:_ though I can't understand Spanish, thank you for the review!

_Rakuen91_: One side means that Barnaby liked Kohime, but Kohime wasn't aware, at least until the last chapter. No, there won't be a detailed version of Mayor son's episode, but you'll get a Kohime and Barnaby date. Please look forward to it.

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><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 9: Love & Revenge**

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><p>"Kotetsu-san."<p>

"Yes?"

"Bring me along next time you go home."

"Why?"

"Because…because…" Barnaby hesitated before his eyes turned sharp and determined. "I want to meet your family."

Kohime blinked for several times before understanding dawned on her.

"I see. You want to meet my family because you want to experience family love once again, do you? Hum! Of course you can."

"Well, that's…" Barnaby didn't know how to explain that the reason he wanted to meet her family was to introduce himself and hopefully gain their approval. People might say that was very fast of him, but he knew how a slow, clueless idiot Kohime could be and decided to act bold.

"But make sure to disguise yourself. I don't want Kaede swooning all over you," Kohime warned, didn't aware that the one who was really in danger was her, not her daughter.

Barnaby accepted the condition and Kohime promised to contact him when she was going to go home.

But things didn't go as planned. Kohime suddenly got a paid vacation from Lloyd. Barnaby was aware that Lloyd wanted him to cover for her long absence. But that was not the thing that stopped her from going with her. It was the lead to his parents' killers that stopped him.

"Bunny-chan! I got a paid vacation from Lloyd. He wants you to cover for me, but do you still want to go with me? For a day maybe?" Kohime asked through the phone.

Barnaby wanted to say 'yes', but at the moment the computer finished downloading one of the criminal's data and displayed it. Barnaby's eyes went wide when he saw the picture. There was no mistaking it. It was _him_. The one who killed his parents.

"Bunny?" Kohime asked, stopping Barnaby from staring the picture with utter hate.

"Sorry, I was thinking about it," Barnaby lied. "I think…" Barnaby decided in a split second. "I'll pass." He could go to Kohime's family anytime, he thought. But his clue wouldn't stay there forever, judging from his previous experiences.

"I see. See you later then."

Barnaby quickly got up and went to Abas prison with his car. But in the middle of the way, HQ contacted and told him about the bridge bombing. Kohime said that he could go and let her took care of things. At that moment he was convinced by her words. She was the legendary Tiger Princess. She knew how to take care of things even if she was now just a shadow of her glory days.

But Barnaby's mind could not settle. He could not help but worry about his partner (and future lover, he embarrassingly admitted). As the distance grew between him and the bridge, his mind started to think about worst case scenarios. The broadcast from HERO TV also didn't help to ease his worries.

And finally the last string snapped when the HERO TV shown a scene where Wild Tiger in a pinch—stuck between saving a civilian and fighting robots. The scene where Kohime was struck by Lunatic's fire in order to protect him replayed in his mind.

Barnaby narrowed his eyes before doing a U-turn and went to the Brox bridge. There was just no way he'd let her get hurt again because of his selfishness. Even if he lost his clue again because of this, he wouldn't regret it if it was for her.

_"It has been a while since I carried you like this. Did you gain some weight?" Barnaby asked, taunting his partner._

_"Shut up. It's because of the suit!" Kohime protested. Beneath the mask, she was blushing from embarassment. This was the second time Barnaby carrying her princess style. Even Tomohiko had done only once in their wedding. _

Kohime sighed at the memory. There she was again, reflexively comparing Barnaby with her husband. Recently that happened too often and Kohime was not sure if it was a good thing or not.

Kohime felt that dealing with Barnaby was like dealing with a teenage puberty boy—hence the reason she loved him like a son. Barnaby was adult-like and yet still child-like in certain aspects. He was the calm and collected one of the two, but sometimes the reverse could happen. Especially when he was involved in something connected to Ouroboros.

However, lately Kohime felt like she was dealing with a PMS-ing girl instead.

There was a time where Barnaby unexpectedly became happy for something she did. Like when she asked him to eat lunch together. Or there was this time where he was angry for no reason. Up till now Kohime still didn't know how did accompanying Keith and his dog John to walk in the park made him angry (Barnaby was happy again when Kohime invited him to go to gym and had exercise together as always, which added to the long list of mystery). Not to mention the time where Barnaby seemed to struggle with his words when all he wanted to say was 'let's eat together' or 'let's go home'. Kohime seriously started to prefer the Barnaby that was hell bent on revenge. At least he didn't do unexpected mood swings.

Speaking of Barnaby in his avenger mode, Kohime really had to do something to stop him from tapping his foot on the floor, making a sound that grated on everybody's patience.

"Calm down, Bunny-chan."

Barnaby looked at her as if she had accused him for the crime of kissing Nathan. "I am calm," he said with a tense voice.

"No, you are not. You are not calm or trust Origami-kun to do his job," Kohime said, more harsh than she intended. Seemed like she herself was having problem to stay calm.

"How can you be so calm?" Barnaby asked. "Origami never did this kind of mission before. He's practically powerless against Jake and that girl. What if his disguise is blown?"

"I know that. We all know that. I am just saying that instead of worrying, it's better to wait and trust him."

"I can hardly trust you. How can I trust him?" Barnaby blurted and his eyes widen in horror, looking like he just realized that he had made a huge, huge mistake.

"You still don't trust me? After all this time?" Kohime could tell that Barnaby hadn't mean to say that, but her hot head get the better of her.

"No, it's not like that. I mean—"

"It's alright. I understand. The Great Barnaby didn't need his partner, so he doesn't need to trust her," Kohime said mockingly.

"No! You don't understand! I—"

Nathan suddenly decided that this was the perfect time to stop the two of them. "_Okay, stop fighting. _This is not the time for that, Tiger-san, Barnaby-kun." Then she dragged Barnaby out of the room before the pair could react.

Now that Barnaby was out of her sight, everything started to dawn on Kohime. What had she just done? How could she destroy the relationship she painstakingly build just like that?

Unknown to her, Barnaby felt the same. When he was brought outside, he immediately slumped to the nearest wall, looking like he wanted to hit himself with his good-luck mode gauntlet. How could he say that to the person he loved? Why did his actions seemed to push Kohime away rather than bringing her close? Barnaby felt like he was the most stupid man ever alive. Even more stupid than his partner. He should just go to Alaska and hide from the rest of the world.

He was so deep in self despair that he didn't realize Nathan was putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Barnaby-kun, are you alright?" she asked. It should be _obvious_, but Barnaby knew she asked out of courtesy so he shook his head in reply.

Nathan didn't say anything to that. And for a moment they were in complete silence.

"I am so stupid," Barnaby said, deciding that the silence was too much for him. "Why did I say something like that to her?"

"People do stupid things, Barnaby-kun. Sometimes we unintentionally hurt our loved ones. Even lovers do have fights sometimes," Nathan said, showing her unexpected wisdom again.

"What should I do?" Barnaby asked, more to himself than to Nathan. "I can't just apologize to her."

"Why not?"

"She wouldn't forgive me."

"Why not?"

"I haven't been nice to her. Then I said something like that. She will not forgive me."

Nathan sighed. "I don't think so, Barnaby-kun. Just think of how many times you pissed her off with your attitude. If Tiger-san wouldn't forgive you, she'd left you a long time ago."

"But this time is different."

"It's the _same_. You only hurt her more than usual. She has been forgiving you without you apologizing and you think she won't if you ask?"

Barnaby saw the logic but was still skeptic about it. "If everything could be forgiven with just an apology, we would lose our jobs."

"Just keep in mind that you'll lost some love if you _don't_ apologize. Come on, Handsome. Time to get inside and fix your broken relationship."

With that Barnaby went inside and apologize to Kohime. Kohime forgave him and he was relieved that his potential love life was saved. However, he didn't know that his apology was the thing that saved him and the whole Sternbild from the terrorists. For if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to trust Kohime and let his partner fool him into winning.


	10. Chapter 10

****A/N:**** So it seems this story would reach 11 chapters + epilogue. Happy reading!

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><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 10: For Kohime & For Barnaby**

* * *

><p>Ivan Karelin, the Origami Cyclone, was unexpectedly observant. Because of this he noticed that Wild Tiger was actually a woman and—lately—how Barnaby tried so hard to make her notice that he loved her.<p>

"What do you think, Origami-kun?" Nathan asked from his seat beside him. Both of them were watching Barnaby's another attempt to invite Tiger to a casual dinner at Sunday.

"I think…" Ivan paused for a moment to find a less hurtful word, "Barnaby-san is not bold enough…" he said finally.

Nathan snorted. "Bold enough or not, I'm starting to think that Tiger-san is worse than a clueless man in terms of love. Barnaby-kun will need to do something extreme."

Ivan agreed with that. At first he thought that Tiger was trying to ignore Barnaby's advances, but it became clear that she was just too clueless. She thought that Barnaby was finally acting like a partner was supposed to be and Barnaby was too inexperienced to see that. Ivan considered telling him, but didn't because he didn't want to meddle.

"What are you two talking about?" Keith asked, suddenly appearing between the two of them, scaring them to death.

**"WAAAA!"** Ivan and Nathan squealed at the same time and reflexively hugged each other.

Keith laughed at that. "Sorry, and sorry again. So what are you two talking about?"

"Uuuhh…" Ivan was not sure if Keith should be told. His eyes were reflexively directed to Nathan, who was eyeing Kohime and Barnaby. Keith quickly caught the hint.

"Oh, so you guys are talking about our tigress!" he said cheerily and four eyes immediately snapped to him.

"How do you know?" Nathan asked. Out of all people, he had suspected that Keith would be the last person to realize that Kotetsu was actually a woman.

"I accidentally saw her when I entered the gym changing room while she was chang—mmmmppphhhhhhhh!" Keith's voice was muffled by Ivan and Nathan's hand, who were now frantically looking at Barnaby to see if the blond man had heard that. It was no secret that Barnaby was easy to be jealous. Keith didn't need to receive more Barnaby's Omnious Mentally Hazardous Glare™ especially when he was still unaware that Barnaby didn't like him because he had walked in the park together with Kohime.

Fortunately Barnaby was too far away to hear Keith so they let him go.

"What was that for?" Keith asked curiously.

Ivan and Nathan nodded to each other before telling Keith about the thing that was going on between Barnaby and Kohime. When they were finished, Keith was in deep thought. It was a rare sight to see (outside their missions) so Ivan and Nathan waited until he finished thinking.

"I think and I think again, Barnaby should asked her for a date," the King of Heroes finally said.

"Yes, that's what I've thought—wait, what did you just say?" Nathan asked, unbelieving his ears for what Keith had said so easily.

"If I were in love with someone, I'd bring flowers and then ask her for a date!" Keith said excitedly, perfectly unaware that in several days, he'd find himself in trouble to do just that.

Ivan frowned, considering the idea. "But even if Barnaby-san wanted to, will they have the time to do that? I mean, we Heroes have to stand-by for 24 hours and Tiger-san went back home every Sunday…"

"I think you can leave that to me."

The three Heroes froze when they heard the unmistakable voice of their director. They turned and saw Agnes standing behind them, eyes glinting like she was planning to get her 100% rating. That guess might not be far off the mark.

"Origami Cyclone," Agnes called.

Ivan immediately tensed. "Yes Mam?"

"Go and touch Tiger. I want you to transform into her."

"Uhh…Yes?" Ivan said, half confirming. He wanted to ask, but he figured that Agnes didn't want to be questioned and did as ordered. The youngest male snuck behind Kohime and touched her very lightly so she wouldn't realize but enough for him to transform. Barnaby didn't notice him since the blond was currently looking for something in his cellphone.

Ivan immediately went back to Agnes and the others, who were now standing where they wouldn't be seen by Tiger and Barnaby.

"Ms. Agnes, if I may, what's this for?" Ivan asked.

"You're going to help me choose clothes for Tiger to wear for the date."

"Oh…" Ivan said, before his eyes widened when he realized what that meant. _"No…"_

He never tried stripping when he transformed, but he knew it was possible. So was Agnes. This meant he was going to see Tiger's nude body and if Barnaby found out…

_I'd be dead._

"That's incredible! Let me help!" Nathan said excitedly. Agnes happily agreed.

"I-I can't! This is a breach of privacy!" Ivan said, instinctively covering his—err—her chest. She even sounded like the Tiger's female voice.

"If you don't do as said, I'll cut your air time," Agnes said with a sharp glare.

"But…"

"Origami-kun, I know you are not heartless. Please help Handsome-kun chasing his love!" Nathan said with the most heart wrenching female voice she could muster.

Ivan looked to Keith, giving the Hero his best 'Help me' look. It was a look that could rival Puppy John's and he expected Keith wouldn't be able to refuse to help him.

But he was wrong.

"Origami-kun, a Hero must help those in trouble, no matter how hard it is. This is a thing that only you can do. I know you can do it!" Keith said with his most encouraging voice, obviously thinking that Ivan was just not confident to do the task at hand..

Ivan really wanted to cry. "Sky High-san, not you too…"

"Let's not waste time then! Saturday is only less than two days from now!" Agnes said as she grabbed Ivan's arm and started to pull him with a force that could rival Tiger's & Barnaby's hundred power. Nathan mimicked her and started to talk about what they'd need.

"Yes, we have so many things to buy. Dresses, accessories, shoes…do we also need to choose the underwear?"

"Of course! Tiger MUST be perfect for our boy star's first date!"

Ivan struggled so hard. But he was no match to the excited ladies. He could only scream in terror as they dragged him away.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

**Saturday 9.00 A.M**

_"Good morning, Sternbild! Today we're going to have a special LIVE episode of HERO TV: A Date with Barnaby!"_

"Eeeh! Barnaby is going to date someone?" Kaede exclaimed and stood up so quickly, knocking the chair in the process. At the same time, Sternbild was shaken with multiple screams as thousands of girls reacted the same way as Kaede.

"Calm down, Kaede-chan," Kohime's mother chided, but it fell to deaf ears. HERO TV had Kaede's complete attention.

_"Today our favorite Hero, Barnaby Brooks Jr., would date one of the ladies he had rescued in the past!"_

Kaede suddenly got excited. She had been saved by Barnaby! Did it mean that she had the chance?

Her reaction was a contrast from uncle, who suddenly got this bad, bad feeling.

_"Without further ado, let's introduce the lucky lady! There she is; Kaburagi Kohime, the first person Barnaby had rescued!"_ as the announcer said that, Kohime appeared, smiling sheepishly and goofily.

"EEEEEEEHHHH! MOM? HOW? That's so UNFAIR! YOU TRAITOR!"

Muramasa's reaction was a stark contrast to his niece. The man set his rice bowl down very slowly, as if trying not to break it, then took his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed his sister's number.

At her broadcasting van, Agnes took a look at Kohime's ringing phone and decline the call. After that she turned off the cellphone. Those actions earned a stare from her assistants.

"No phone calls at work," she said before barking orders like usual.

The same thought ran inside her assistant's heads: _Isn't this supposed to be a date?_

Back at Kaburagi residence, Muramasa was _this_ close from decapitating his phone. Luckily for the phone, his focus of rage switched to his own van when it refused to just start up.

It would be a while before Muramasa could reach Sternbild, but a while was all it took for Barnaby to confess his feelings.

At least, that was what Agnes thought.

* * *

><p>Omake:<p>

"By the way, producer, are you sure this is a good idea? If Barnaby ended up with Tiger, won't he lose his female fans?" Cain, the afro hair director asked.

"They will wept for a while, of course. But after that, the ratings will go up."

"Why?"

"Because girls love drama. They'd jump for any juicy gossips so they can talk about it."

"…"

And once again, Cain had to admit his inability to understand female's logic.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**: Okay, folks! Here's the extra long last chapter of this story. Stay tuned for the epilogue!

_nsomniacartist_ Unfortunately, I won't be writing that. My focus here is to introduce new plots while (trying to) stay on the original plot as much as possible. I won't do scene remakes because they won't give an advance to this story. I am truly sorry for unable to answer your request.

_spiel_ Yeah, I am being mean to him and I love it.

_Sha Moli_ Shoot, I better fix that now. Thanks for the correction. And yeah, this story will be over soon, because I don't like dragging things. Better finish it now or never.

_Sir Gawain Camelot _Thank you for the reviews! I hope you like this chapter too.

_Scattered Petals_ Thank you! I'm glad you like my story and my attempt of characterization. As for Lunatic, I won't have the space to include him, he just eluded my plot bunny (no pun intended).

_Happy reading!_

* * *

><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Chapter 11: Date & Confession**

* * *

><p>Barnaby appeared calm and collected, like his usual self, but inside he was sweating like Niagara Falls. He still couldn't believe that he was having a date with Kohime. The woman looked so beautiful in red coat and black leggings. Her hair was curled into medium sized spirals at the edges, making her seemed younger than usual. She even wore make up, but not overdone like Nathan. Barnaby couldn't take his eyes off her and was forced to look away before Kohime caught him staring.<p>

Agnes had chosen Sternbild Heroes Amusement Park as the site of their date. Agnes said that this was the perfect place for a Hero like him to have a date and it would be a good commercial for the newly built amusement park too, so it was two birds with one stone. But this also meant that they wouldn't had _any_ private moments because of the cameras and TV crews tailing them. To make matters worse, Barnaby had to stay cool, calm, and composed since this counted as work, and he couldn't destroy his image by acting like an idiot in love (which was true).

"Relax, Bun—Barnaby-san, just think of me as your mother," Kohime said.

Arrgh, why women are so observant?

"I cannot do that, Kaburagi-san. This is a date so I have to treat you like you are my love interest," Barnaby said sincerely.

Kohime was clearly holding out her laugh. "Bun—Barnaby-san, you are too professional!" It was not about being professional! He really wanted to treat Kohime like that. Why couldn't she see it?

_"If you want to be that pro, you should hold hands like a couple,"_ Agnes quipped from the wireless earphone that was specially designed by Saito so it looked like an accessory.

"Holding hands?" Barnaby repeated slowly.

Wait.

What?

He was not ready for that! He'd wet Kohime's hand with his sweaty palm and Kohime would tease him to no end! "Holding hands is too intimate," Barnaby said while his heart wailed at the lost chance.

_"Then how about arm hugging?"_

As soon as Agnes' finished speaking, Kohime grabbed and hugged his arm. Barnaby immediately turned as red as his suit. He became awkwardly aware of how soft but firm Kohime's 'stuffs' were as his arms were pressed right in the middle of them. It was way much worse than holding hands.

"Like this?" Kohime asked innocently, unaware of her partner dying in her arms.

Later, they settled with Barnaby putting his arm around Kohime's shoulder. It still made him nervous like crazy, but at least he could still maintain his cool facade.

The first ride was a boat tour inside a tunnel that depicted the history of the Heroes, from the very first—Mr. Legend—to the most recent—Barnaby. Kohime was having a fit when she noticed that the number of her Hero's appearance—both Tiger Princess and Wild Tiger combined—was not half as long as Barnaby's.

The next was a 4D theatre. It played the movie about the Heroes trying to save Sternbild from an armageddon caused by a mad scientist trying to make the moon kiss the Earth. They could experience the sensations of all Hero's power (even Origami's) there. It was almost a pleasant experience, if not for the fact that Dragon Kid's electricity made their hair stood up like porcupine needles. Barnaby was not too pleased when he realized that only his bangs stood up, making him looked like a pineapple head. To add salt to the wound, Kohime took a picture and promised she'd keep it very very close to her. Barnaby just knew it meant blackmail.

They had a fast food lunch, consisting of HERO TV burger (they said it was the same burger as the Heroes had, but Barnaby swore on his points that there was no such thing in HERO TV cafeteria) and Legend's cola (it tasted horrible, Kohime exclaimed that this was an insult to the original Legend's cola).

_"When are you going to confess to her?" _an impatient Agnes suddenly asked when Kohime was gone to toilet.

"I can't find the right moment," Barnaby replied. Looking at the previous rides, it was easy to agree with Barnaby's statement. Agnes didn't bother him further.

They were at their fourth attraction—the haunted house, where the dead heroes and villains made a come back—when Agnes suddenly said to Barnaby, _"You are going to confess at the Ferris wheel."_

"What?" Barnaby hissed loudly. Fortunately Kohime was too busy being scared shitless by a bloody zombie of Mr. Legend to hear him.

_"It will be sunset when you reach ferris wheel. It should be perfect. You got view, privacy, and intimacy there."_

"Wait, I'm not—**AAAAAHHH!**" Barnaby screamed, chorusing Kohime's. A giant white and bloody mad bear suddenly dropped and hung upside down from the ceiling, scaring the shit out of them. He almost didn't notice Kohime hugging him unconsciously in her surprise and fright. Almost.

_"Well, you have three hours until then. Good luck."_

Barnaby couldn't respond since he and Kohime were ushered by staffs in bloody mad bear costumes to the scariest attraction in the haunted house: the indoor roller coaster. He was so glad that the camera crew couldn't follow them there or the whole Sternbild could hear him screaming like a wimp (he completely forgot that their communicator transmit their voices, which was used by Agnes to broadcast their screams). Later they were forced to purchase the photo that was taken when they were inside the house and roller coaster. He chose to purchase the roller coaster one while Kohime chose the mad-bear surprise photo (there was a camera inside its eyes), obviously because his expression was more hilarious there.

After the bloody parade, the two of them suddenly found themselves face to face with the biggest challenge in their entire Hero career since Jake:

_The_ Sky High Roller Coaster.

On the entrance the text "EXPERIENCE THE THRILL, EXPERIENCE SKY HIGH" was written in thick white letters on purple plate. The car was shaped like Sky High on his flying pose: two hands stretched to the front, palm opened in Hitler salute style. It even left a trail of smoke just like the Hero did when he flew. Both Kohime and Barnaby had to admit that it was an almost perfect copy of Sky High—if it was not twisting its body like a snake on the rail. The rails were made with an awesome technology that rendered it almost invisible (to give people the impression of flying) but Kohime and Barnaby still could see what a tangled mess of metal it was. Just looking at it sent a tsunami of nausea over them. The lunch they managed to keep in their stomach at the indoor roller coaster may be puked out this time.

"Bu—Barnaby-san," Kohime said, eyes still glued on the abominable ride.

"Yes?"

"Is Sky High-san's flying course this extreme?"

"…I honestly don't know."

"…"

"…"

"Do we really have to ride on this?"

The sound of Agnes cracking her knuckle traveled to their communicator.

"I'm afraid we have no choice."

It was the closest they could get to feel like dying without getting into real danger.

The ride last about three minutes, but in that short time both of them thought that they'd rather face three Jakes without their NEXT power rather than riding on the ride of hell. It felt like they had spent more than half of their time upside down and thrown to all direction for the rest. It was a miracle they retained their lunch once again. When they came out of the roller coaster building, they had these empty look on them, as if the ride had corroded their soul clean. It took several CMs before the staffs managed to call them back to reality.

When they were asked about their opinion, Barnaby wanted to say it was terrible, but changed it into 'terrific' at the last moment. Kohime, however, answered the opposite.

"It was **_awesome_**. I want to ride it again!" she said with eyes glowing brilliantly, as if the ride was nothing but pure excitement and pleasure. Barnaby was ready to faint then and there and would do so if Agnes didn't interrupt them saying that they have little time remaining. So after a quick ride on the Origami-Go-Round, a merry-go-round that changed shape in a period of time, they went to the Heroes-Wheel.

There was nothing special about that Ferris Wheel. It was neither the biggest nor the smallest. It didn't have an awesome design of structure or lamps. But each car was painted with a picture of the Heroes, all in _chibi_-fied version. Each picture told different story and chronologically sorted so you could see the history of the Heroes in one rotation. For the sake of cuteness, most of the pictures were telling the stupid side of the Heroes. The pictures also had neon lamps on it so it could glow in the dark. Those pictures look so cute. Kohime's favorite was the scene where Rock Bison had his horns stuck on a car while Barnaby's favorite was the scene where he was carrying Kohime princess style in her Tiger suit. The reason was not because of the pose, but because Tiger was giving a peace sign in that picture, appearing happy, while in reality she was not.

And it was just his luck that they ride on that exact car (Agnes swore in the name of Rating God that it was purely coincidence). Barnaby's nervousness that had left since lunch came back tenfold. They sat across each other, one looked so excited while the other looked so nervous. The door closed with a definite click that seemed to seal his fate.

"Good luck, Barnaby-kun," Agnes said before cutting off their communication line. Sure, she used Barnaby's love to promote the amusement park, but she was professional enough to leave Barnaby's most private moment off screen.

However, he didn't know that Agnes only turned off the mike and kept the speaker on for the sake of eavesdropping—but she wouldn't air it, since she promised!

Barnaby gulped nervously when the wheel started moving. He figured that he should wait until they were at the top, where the Ferris Wheel would stop so they could enjoy the view. Until then, he got to see Kohime behaving like a ten year old. Her face was pressed so hard to the viewing window as she exclaimed her awe.

"Wow… Wooooowww! This is so incredible!" Kohime exclaimed, voice going louder as they got higher. Barnaby followed her gaze and saw the breathtakingly beautiful, sunset view of whole Sternbild and its bridge. The amusement park was build on a manmade floating island—a fact that just screamed how deep the sponsors' wallets were—that was designed so people could see sunset and sunrise with the whole Sternbild as decoration. For a moment Barnaby was hypnotized by the beautiful scene. He was called back to reality when the car jolted very slightly when the wheel paused.

This is it. It was now or never.

Barnaby struggled with his voice for a moment. He was momentarily mute before he managed to exclaim,

"Ko—Kohime-san!"

A surprised Kohime tore her eyes away from the window to look at him.

"What is it, Bunny-chan?"

Barnaby's breath hitched when he saw how beautiful Kohime was under the orange light of the sunset. All courage and heart preparation just crumbles into dust and swept by the wind of fear. It would take a while before he could speak again.

Meanwhile, the other Heroes were busy spying the event with an ultra powered binoculars that was set on a man-made hill across the Ferris-Wheel. Unfortunately only one functional at the moment and Karina was the current user, a position she won by _Jan-Ken-Pon_.

"How is it? Have they kissed yet?" an impatient Nathan asked. At the corner of her eyes, she was watching Pao Lin and Antonio combining strength to stop Keith, who decided that mimicking his roller coaster while wearing paper Sky-High-Mask seemed fun. Antonio kept throwing Pao Lin to Keith, who somehow managed to dodge all without noticing.

"No. Barnaby just started confessing… Oh, he seemed in trouble," Karina said with a tone similar to a sport commentator.

"What? What trouble? Let me see!" Nathan exclaimed as she pushed Karina out of the way.

"Hey! No pushing!" Karina protested but it fell to deaf ears. Nathan quickly adjusted the binoculars that had been rotated out of position. She searched for the Ferris Wheel and accidentally saw someone running towards it. Out of curiosity, she focused towards the person and her jaw slacked when she recognized the person from the photos in Kohime's cellphone.

It was Kaburagi Muramasa. And he looked furious as he hurried towards the Ferris Wheel. Nathan suddenly realized his intention.

"Oh, no…"

"What is it?" Karina asked.

"We have to stop him!" Nathan shouted before dashing towards the Ferris Wheel. Karina and Ivan (who was in the background the whole time) were forced to follow him.

Back to Kohime and Barnaby, Barnaby finally found his voice again and proceeded to confessing.

"Kohime-san, I…I…"

While he stammered, Cain the producer and Mary the video mixer, shouted encouragement like "Do your best, Barnaby!" or "Barnaby Fight!" to him.

Barnaby closed his eyes and screamed. "I like you!"

Agnes and her crew fell to the floor.

"No! You're supposed to say that you LOVE her! Not like!" Agnes' shouted furiously.

"You know how insensitive she is!" Even the usually calm Mary was shouting in frustration.

"She won't know your true feelings!" Cain roared.

Barnaby of course couldn't hear the shouts or even aware of the uproar he caused. He waited and waited until Kohime spoke.

"I like you too," she said with a smile.

"Really?" Barnaby asked hopefully.

"Well, at first I don't like you because your cocky attitude. But that changed as I got to know you," Kohime said, a nostalgic expression decorated her face. "Let's continue to be a good partner, shall we?"

"Yeah." Barnaby was so disappointed that his response came out automatically. Why couldn't she see it? After all that effort and hints, why couldn't she get it that he loved her?

Back to Agnes and her crew, they were clearly disappointment by the outcome.

"Barnaby-san…" Mary sighed, sympathizing with Barnaby.

"I don't want to hear more of this," Agnes said as she killed the speaker. She sighed before giving orders to her crew. "They are descending. Prepare the to exit the CM."

In the car, Kohime kept speaking, not aware of Barnaby's stormy expression because his eyes were hidden behind the glasses that glinted from the sunlight streaming through the window.

"Today is very fun. Let's go here again with the others next time."

_Next time… there won't be a chance for me next time…_

"Bunny-chan? Hello? Barnaby?"

Even after all that, the words that came from Kohime's lips sounded like a music to him. If only he could get those lips to say that she loved him too…

_"You can kiss her when all things fail. Nothing tells more than a kiss."_

Barnaby's body had moved before his brain could tell him that it was a stupid move. He leaned his head forward and kissed Kohime before the woman could pull back. The kiss was pretty much just their lips touching each other, but it was more than enough for both. Enough for Barnaby to tell Kohime his feelings and enough for Kohime to realize that Barnaby loved her. Both of them didn't dare to move or breath until their body screamed for it. They pulled out of the kiss at the same time and stared at each other for a long time with their face blushing like crazy. It was Barnaby who broke the silence.

"I love you," he said, sounding so honest and sincere that Kohime could not help but blush even redder. "Do you love me?" he continued.

Barnaby couldn't believe that he was saying the lines that the old him thought was cheesier than swiss cheese. But he couldn't think of anything else to say in this situation, not with his face hot like it was made of magma.

It was Kohime's turn to struggle with her voice.

"I—"

"EHEM!"

Two heads turned and they saw the camera crew, a furious Muramasa, and the Heroes who had given up stopping him, staring at them like they were movie stars that just came out of the frame. They suddenly realized that while they were busy with each other, their car had stopped on the ground, giving all others the full view and hearing to their exchange. Barnaby prayed that the camera that was pointed towards them was not recording at the moment.

…

…

Well, no such thing.

Agnes was cackling maniacally in her van. The reason was obvious if you looked at the rating panel, which displayed the rare number of 100% and was not changing.

"Good job, Barnaby! OHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

Her direct opposite was Muramasa, who wasted no time to assault Barnaby verbally. Yes, the angry big brother wanted nothing but beating this brat into a pulp and toss him to the deepest sea, but unfortunately, Nathan, Karina, and Ivan, were strong enough to keep him in place.

"Brat, you are not her lover and yet you dare to kiss my little sister?" Muramasa asked, knuckles cracking loudly under the force of his hands. Normally, even a big man like Antonio cowered before this, but Barnaby didn't even blink under the threat.

"Yes, I am not her lover _yet_. However, this is the only way I can think to show my love to her. If you have better suggestions, please do share," Barnaby replied challengingly. O yeah, he was back to the cocky Barnaby Brooks, Jr. Kohime so hated and showing the 'love knows no fear' attitude in the worst time.

"You brat, let me teach you a lesson," Muramasa said angrily as he struggled to get free and succeeded. He looked like an angry bull with his face red and nostrils flaring.

"Come and get me, old man," Barnaby said, eyes glowing.

Agnes sighed in frustration. As interesting as it was, she realized that she had to stop them before the whole Sternbild watched their idol beating a civilian.

"Barnaby—"

"That's enough, both of you."

Every heads turned to the speaker: Kohime. Both Barnaby and Muramasa stopped out of surprise. Seeing that she had all of their attention, Kohime turned to Muramasa, deciding to deal with her brother first.

"Aniki, stop getting involved in my love life."

Muramasa frowned in disagreement. "But—"

"I am big enough to know what's good for me and what's not, Aniki. Besides, you can't watch me forever," Kohime said with a final tone in her voice. Muramasa had no choice but surrendered to his sister.

Then Kohime turned to Barnaby, her face was solemn and serious. Barnaby gulped and closed his eyes tightly as she raised her hand. He was fully expecting a slap for his rudeness. But the slap never came. The hand landed on his shoulder instead.

"Barnaby, I appreciate your feelings for me. Unfortunately, I don't have the same feelings for you," Kohime said with a kind voice that did nothing to lessen the pain of being rejected for the second time that day, even though the first one was not a proper confession.

There was a long silence as everybody stared on Barnaby, waiting for his reaction. It took him several tries before he managed to croak something.

"I see..."

"Don't look so sad. This is your first try after all."

Barnaby looked up in surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked. Muramasa seemed to know she meant though, as he tried to shout something but his mouth was blocked by Nathan and Karina's hand.

"Well, Tomohiko didn't receive my first confession, or my second, or my third and so on until I rescued him..." she trailed, blushing at the memory. "The point is, you should keep trying. You might manage to make me fall in love in the process..." Kohime trailed again, blushing even redder as she seemed to realize what she was implying. Her true intention was to cheer up her partner, but she ended up sounding like giving hope to him. Well, it might not be so bad, but... "Argh! I don't know anymore!" she shouted before making a mad dash toward the exit, desperate to get away. But Barnaby caught her arm before she could do so.

"Wait! Does that mean I can try again?" he asked.

Kohime bit her lip, making a quick judgement in her head before saying, "Yes, you can! But if you dare to kiss me without permission again..." Kohime let her fist finished her sentence. It struck Barnaby right in the gut, making the blond curl in pain and let her go. Nobody else stopped her from running this time, because they were either too shocked or too awed by her reaction.

Agnes was forced to end the show then and there, but not without displaying the accidentally captured footage of a poorly masked Keith mimicking his jet coaster since she thought it was good for advertising. Muramasa chased Kohime who ran into God knows where while Barnaby was sent home to 'recuperate'. The rest of the Heroes got the time to enjoy the fireworks in the amusement park before they went criminal-ass-kicking as usual. But the rating was not as high as usual, because everybody was too busy gossiping of the event that had just occurred. As for Kaede, she honestly didn't know if she should feel happy or not at the possibility of Barnaby, her idol, becoming her father.


	12. Epilogue

_This chapter is a tribute to my uncle, who left this world six days ago. _

_May his soul rest forever in eternal peace. _

_May his family cherish their memory of his until the time they meet him again._

* * *

><p><strong>Kohime &amp; Barnaby<strong>

**Epilogue: Kohime & Barnaby**

* * *

><p>Kohime felt a horrible sense of déjà vu.<p>

She was taking money to pay for Kaede's skating course, as always, when suddenly several gunshots were heard and she found herself involved in bank robbery, _again_.

Ten minutes later, she was riding the van along with the robbers as a hostage. The robbers tied her with an easy-to-tear type duct tape and applied the same tape to her mouth. The one who was supposed to be pointing gun to her was now busy firing to their pursuers that he wouldn't notice her if she was to creep behind him to kick him out of the van.

Kohime didn't know if she was supposed to laugh or cry at the sheer similarity of this situation with the one she had months ago. There were three possible explanations on this:

1. These bunch were the same robbers.

2. These bunch were different robbers that acted according to the same standard code of stupidity.

3. Agnes had promoted to everyone that Kohime was the best choice as a hostage.

Currently, Kohime could confirm none of these three theories, but she was more inclined to believe the third theory since lately she seemed to find herself facing hostage situations similar to the past—only this time she was the hostage. It happened after Barnaby accidentally announced his feelings to her to the whole Sternbild and Kohime didn't believe that the whole thing was a coincidence.

Well, in case Agnes didn't catch it before, Kohime would show her again that she was not interested in taking part of turning HERO TV into a soap opera.

Kohime quietly tore free from her bind and whispered to her communicator.

"Saito, my suit please."

Saito replied with a faint green 'OK.' A second later, a flash of green hit the van from the side, knocking her captor out of the van. It was her motorcycle with her suit on it, remotely controlled by Saito. The motorcycle then jumped inside the van to let Kohime took her suit.

Agnes groaned when she saw the Wild Tiger costume captured on the camera. She had deliberately chosen Sunday because of Kohime's "No Work on Sunday" policy, but it seemed like she was too pissed off to care.

"Barnaby, go to the van, _now_. Origami, damage control."

_"Eeeh, again?"_ Origami complained but went to do it anyway. By now everybody already knew what Agnes meant by damage control.

Kohime had just finished wearing her Wild Tiger suit when Origami suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Luckily she was already used to it by now or she'd scream in surprise.

"Yo, Origami-kun. I'm counting on you again."

"Tiger-san, must you do this?" Origami asked, trying to plead one last time. Barnaby entered the van at the same time and asked the same question.

"Yes _Tiger-san_, must you do this?" Barnaby asked, sounding annoyed, but Kohime knew he was grinning inside the helmet.

"Shut up, Bunny. If you want to play prince rescue princess, I will give you enough opportunity—off screen that is!" Kohime shouted in her male voice.

"I see…so you are saying that it is fine for me to ride you home?" Barnaby asked, suddenly too close for comfort.

"I am not saying that," Kohime answered, suddenly going defensive.

"But it is a duty of a prince to make sure that his princess reaches home safely, isn't it?" Barnaby countered.

"I am not _your_ princess and I can take care of myself just fine," Kohime shot back.

"Is that so? What about yesterday when you were chased by my jealous fangirls?"

"I will be fine if I pose as Kotetsu!"

"Then what about those times when you were too drunk to get home?"

"That's…"

Kohime was going to retort back with some smart ass comment, but she was interrupted by Origami.

"Excuse me, but I think we should go now…" the ninja like Hero said as he pointed at Fire Emblem, who was just ten seconds away from firing her fire to the van.

Kohime screamed profanities under her breath while Barnaby just raised his eyebrow and said, "Let's go."

Five seconds later, three people exited the van. They were Tiger, Barnaby, and Kohime. At least that was what it appeared to unknowing audiences. The Kohime in Barnaby's arms was actually Origami Cyclone transformed into her to do 'damage control.' After putting the pseudo-Kohime in a safe place, Barnaby resumed the chase together with other Heroes. One minute later, Origami appeared again and did his job too.

But Origami Cyclone's damage control didn't stop there. After the arrest of the robbers, he had to once again pose as Kohime to give appreciation to Barnaby, since Kohime flatly refused to say thanks for nothing. He was even forced (by Agnes) to give Barnaby a kiss in the cheek, an action that was not enjoyed by either party, even though Barnaby still wore the mask when Origami gave him the kiss. Only Kohime and Agnes that was amused by the actions.

Unknown by them, Blue Rose was giving Tiger a longing, dreamy stare. What that stare meant was confirmed when everyone heard her sighed, "Tiger-san," lovingly.

Yes, even after all that, among the Heroes, only Blue Rose who was not aware of Kaburagi Kotetsu's real identity. The affection might had started after Tiger rescued her several times. Barnaby noticed this but wasn't bothered because he knew the girl had no chance from the start. As for Tiger, well, of course she didn't notice because she was the love idiot.

"Shouldn't we tell her about Tiger-san?" Dragon Kid asked.

"No, we should not. Let her enjoy the experience of love. It doesn't come often," Fire Emblem said wisely. Nobody was fooled though, since it was evident that she wanted to see how things would turn out. She was one of the people who didn't bother to be evil enough to break the news to Blue Rose. Her kind of people knew it would turn nasty in the future, but it was a ticking time bomb that they were happy enough to leave alone.

"Yes! The same love does not come again and again!"

Okay, only Sky High that was fooled.

In Kaburagi residence, Kaede was cheering for her mom. She thought that her mom was cool because she managed to seize the heart of everybody's idol (Kohime was not pleased at this, she thought Kaede should think of her cool for different reason). Of course she was careful to not let her uncle hear that, but today the man went to Sternbild again to 'make things straight.' It was cute that her uncle never stopped worrying about her mom even after she told him not to numerous times. She thought that his efforts were futile, since it was just a matter of time before her mother was smart enough to admit that she loved Barnaby too. I mean, everybody could see that! Besides, she knew her father wouldn't mind seeing her mom and her being happy with another father. How did she knew this you ask? Because she asked to him this morning.

_-Amamiya Family Grave, this morning-_

_Kaede stole glances to her mother as they prayed together for father. She already finished hers, but pretended to keep praying so she wouldn't make her mother hurry in her prayer. _

_She wondered what her mom said to father in her prayer. She was still small when father left them, but she could remember how her mother reacted at his death. In her emotional state, her mother kept begging for Tomohiko to take her too. Even after she calmed down, she found that the name 'Amamiya' was too heavy to bear, since it reminded her of his death. That was the reason why her name and her mother's name were changed to Kaburagi Kaede and Kaburagi Kohime. She didn't like how her mother selfishly took what little Kaede had from her father, but she couldn't say it without hurting her feelings._

_Her mother finally finished her prayer and stood up. Kaede followed her movement and stared at the grave together, as if waiting for something to happen. A minute passed before Kaede finally said what was bugging her since a while._

_"Mom, do you think otou-san would mind if you marry again?"_

_Kohime was not surprised by the question. It was as if she had been gathering the courage to ask the same. She turned and smiled sadly to Kaede. "I don't know, Kaede. What about you?"_

_"I don't mind as long as we can be happy. I don't know about uncle though," Kaede answered, earning a laugh from Kohime. _

_"He will get used to it like before. It just took time."_

_The conversation ended there. They gathered their things, preparing to leave._

_"Where do you want to eat, Kaede?" Kohime asked. "What about some sushi? You wanted to try that new restaurant, right?"_

_"Okaa-san, I think we should ask papa about it," Kaede said, not answering her mother's question._

_Kohime just looked at her for a moment before nodding. "You are right. We should ask him," Kohime said and turned to the grave and asked, "So what do you think, Tomohiko? Should I go and get a guy to make us happy?" she asked playfully, but her expression was serious. _

_They waited for something, anything, that they could take as a sign. But nothing happened. The grave site was as silent as before. Even wind didn't blow. _

_Kohime sighed and turned to Kaede. She was wearing a playful expression to cover her disappointment. "He doesn't answer."_

_Kaede shook her head. "No. He did. He said yes," she said with a smile._

_"What? How did you know?"_

_"I just know. Trust me," Kaede said with a wink. Then she pulled Kohime's arm, taking her away from the grave. "Let's go, kaa-san! I'm hungry!"_

_"Geez, what a glutton you are. If you're not careful, you would look like a pig in tutu when you skate!"_

_"I won't. I'm not like you, remember?"_

_"Why you—where are you going? Don't run you ungrateful child!"_

_Kaede laughed as she ran from her angry but laughing mother. It was almost like when her father was still alive. She would beg to her father for toys that her mother wouldn't buy for her and her father would only smile silently in response. Then her mother would chase Kaede because they both knew that his silence was his way of saying, 'yes.'_

- F I N -

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><p>And there it is, the final chapter of "Kohime &amp; Barnaby." I hope you guys enjoyed the ride.<p>

**Thank you for God **that gives me inspiration and time to create this awesome story. Now I knew that I can write romance even though I never experienced it.

**Thank you for Sunrise**, who created this awesome anime. I am waiting patiently for season two. Take your time so you won't repeat Gundam SEED Destiny mistake. We love fanservice, but we love good story more.

**Thank you guys for reviewing**:

Sha Moli

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**…and the rest of readers who favorite-d, story-alerted, following this story, or just plain stumbling upon it. **I hope you enjoy it till the end.

And the last but not least, **thank you for my parents** who supported me in my every decision. I will say it even if you may not read this:

I know I am sacrificing many things by deciding to be a writer. Honestly I don't know if this is a good or a stupid decision, but I have decided to never again lie to myself. I cannot imagine myself being other than writer. My heart yearned for it and I don't want to spend my old days thinking about 'what ifs' of the dream that I thrown away. I want to assure you that I just stopped following other people and seriously chase my dream, not choosing a bleak future. Every job has risks, and I decided that if I am going to take risk, I am going to take it in the thing I love. Only that.

**Message for other writers and readers:**

This will be my last fan-fiction for a while. The death of my uncle seemed to tell me to stop dilly-dallying around and chase my dream. But I never once thought that this fan-fiction or any other fan-fiction is a waste of time. I get to challenge myself, improve my writing skill, and please people at the same time. And I tell you what, this is the first multi-chapter story I have EVER finished. I have been a writer for what—nine years!—and only now I managed to finish a multi-chapter story! Imagine my feelings ^_^.

I am now going to write an original story called _**"Sky Breaker"**_ in Text Novel under the pen-name "Angelia". Here's the summary of the story:

_"Soren, a child found in the old ruins of a kingdom, is taken as the apprentice of the Court Magician, Song Yu Ra. As the kingdom face a great danger that can end their planet's existence, his origin is revealed. He has the power to save the planet—but at the price of revealing his existence to those who after his power, what will he do?"_

If you are interested in sci-fi and space story, please check it out. It is now available on .com/story/Sky-Breaker-~-Episode-1:-Velga/8049/.

Well then, I should be off to chase my dream, but before that, here's a present for you!

* * *

><p><strong> Omake:<strong>

Antonio once again found himself at the mercy of Muramasa, who decided that he was the best person to answer his question. The older Kaburagi took him to the Heroes bar, gulped the most alcoholic drink available, and started to interrogate him.

"Antonio, why did you love her?"

Antonio didn't understand the question. "I'm sorry?"

"Why did you love my sister?" Muramasa rephrased his question.

"Uh, why do you want to know that?"

"Because I am wondering why she attracted many males like honey to bee! Now answer my question!" Muramasa commanded, sounding like a pissed off general demanding why nobody informed him about the enemy having nuclear missiles in their disposal. It was enough to send Antonio rambling.

"Well, although she is an idiot sometimes, she is kind and cute… but that's not why I fell in love with her!" Antonio added hurriedly when he saw Muramasa narrowing his eyes. "I fell in love because she was…she was my id—I mean my savior."

"Your savior?" Muramasa asked, suddenly more sober.

"Yes. When I was little I was bullied because I was a foreigner, a big softie…and a NEXT. When I was bigger I used my power to defend myself and turned myself into a juvenile deliquent. I know this sounds stupid, but I felt so powerful and so invincible that time so when I heard about her, I challenged her to prove that I am still the strongest.

"We fought, but we never knew which one of us is stronger since we had to rescue Tomohiko. That was when I saw her true beauty. Her sense of justice, her will to protect the weak—we were juvenile delinquents but she used her power to for good, unlike me. I was awed by her spirit. She was a woman and yet she was more manly than I am. I decided to follow the same path and became a Hero, until now. She saved me from the path of crime and I guess I just… fell in love with her in the process."

Muramasa stared at him long at hard after he finished.

"I don't know about the others but they might think the same," Antonio added, feeling uncomfortable for the silence.

"Are you saying that once they get to know her, they just fall in love with her?"

"No, but it's not completely wrong either. It's more like…like…" Antonio was struggling for words better than 'your sister was just so lovable that everyone couldn't help but fall in love with her.'

Muramasa nodded. "I see. Then I just have to make sure that no one can get close enough to fall in love with her then."

Antonio gaped. "Are you serious?"

"I am always serious, Antonio," Muramasa said with his solemn expression before continued to drink like he wanted to drown all his problems in the sea of alcohol so they would never resurface.

Looking at the older Kaburagi behavior, Antonio couldn't help but sweat-dropped and think how similar Kohime and Muramasa behaved when alcohol was involved. And even though he knew he was not the man's primary target, he still hoped that he was not in Muramasa's To-Get-Rid-Off list. After all, he still enjoyed spending the night in the Bar with Kohime, even if he had to put off with her childishness and a jealous Barnaby who tried to get between them.

-END-

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><p><em>"We don't want praise, as long as we're certain to have today,<em>

_we can create as many chapters called dream as we want to."_

_~NOVELS: _ミッシング・リンク_ (MISSING LINK)_

_See you!_

_~Licrois_


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